Blog Posts

Hello friends, welcome to the blog  this week.  Today I am going to talk about getting past your past, whether that is belief systems that get in your way, trauma that holds you back, or anything else from your past that may impact your present.  In our practice we have found EMDR to be the most effective way to help people get past their past and move forward functioning at their best.  If you haven’t checked out the Healing Fanatic podcast I encourage you to do so.  The latest episode, number 10, explains EMDR.  For anyone considering EMDR and wanting to learn more I also recommend the book Getting Past Your Past by Francine Shapiro.  This book includes self-help techniques and was written by Francine Shapiro who is the creator of EMDR.  

My best advice to clients is to be open to the process of EMDR in session and to do their own work outside of sessions.  This can include reading this book to learn more about EMDR techniques and the self-help techniques provided in the book.  I want to talk about a few other tips that can help when working on letting go of negative experiences, feelings, beliefs, setbacks, and trauma.  

1. Find a belief system that is going to serve you better that counters the negative belief system you carry. For example, if you get stuck by the belief system of something being wrong with you because of past experiences, a belief system that is more serving may include, my past experiences don’t define my worth. I am ok as I am. It wasn’t my fault.  Whether you like a mantra, positive self talk, affirmation cards, or just challenging negative thoughts, these things can all be helpful in the process of letting go.  

2.  Set boundaries and create physical distance from people in your life that have contributed to negative beliefs, self talk, caused you harm, or trauma.  This step is very important for people trying to distinguish their own self talk and belief systems from other people’s thoughts and belief systems.  I have several clients who with some awareness begin to recognize that some of their self talk and belief systems did not come from themselves and can see their pattern in other people in their lives such as their parents, friends, partner or spouse.  

3. Practice mindfulness.  A lot of people struggle with staying in the present moment, they may focus too heavily on how situations are like past situations or focus on the future and become overwhelmed.  Practicing mindfulness helps us get more grounded, helps us to slow down, and give ourselves the opportunity to be able to challenge our self talk. 

4. Allow negative emotions to flow.  The more we fight against our emotions and try to not feel them the more likely we are to go numb, go into auto-pilot, or shut down.  Yeah it’s not fun to feel negative emotions, but it’s not fun to not feel positive emotions either.  Most often we give negative emotions more power with our thoughts and experiences that remind us of the same emotion.  Allowing the negative emotions to flow and accept that they are happening in the now and not related to the past can help give them less power.  

5. Be gentle with yourself and practice self care. It‘s ok to not be your “best” all the time like when you are allowing yourself to feel negative emotions or walking through a trigger (I wrote a blog post on this previously if you need a reminder).  

Thanks for reading, until next time, keep doing the work it’s worth it. 

Emilie Barragan, LCSW 

Therapeuo Health – “Tackling Physical and Emotional Pain.”