You read about it all the time, and if you watch TV, then you’re bombarded by news of another job lost or another home in foreclosure in the US, or terrible problems somewhere else in the world. There are people in every neighborhood and from every walk of life who have been affected by negativity of all kinds. Wars break out in countries across the globe, and national leaders seem to have very little regard for the people who look to them for fair leadership.
What can you do to help with emotional healing of those who have been laid off or those who have lost their homes? What about people who are affected by wars and starvation, or other crises that seem so prevalent? If you are personally affected, what can you do to help yourself heal emotionally from the loss of a job or the loss of a home, or the loss of life or identity?
The Need For Emotional Healing
All kinds of problems can cause severe emotional trauma. People who see their loved ones die before their eyes, and who have the terrible job of actually engaging other human beings in combat suffer terribly. On the home front, soldiers returning from battles, and people losing jobs and homes suffer. Whether we are dealing with veterans, victims of wars and the ravages of starvation in other countries, or people who have lost jobs, whose family relied totally on the lost income, the need for emotional healing is enormous.
When you stop to consider the way that so many people tie their identities to their lifestyles, homes and careers, it is evident that a serious sense of loss is even more deeply felt – it’s not just a family or home that was destroyed or lost – it is a part of a person’s sense of self. On some level, it is easy to say things like “they’re in a better place now, no more suffering,” or “it’s only money” and try to move on, but it can be hard to do that when your sense of reality is completely shattered. For people who lose family members and friends, the change in social structure and perhaps the loss of financial support can cause emotional trauma on many levels. For people who have lost jobs, life gets a lot harder, as money is a tool most of us need to live our lives. Whether you or someone you care about has lost income, the emotional trauma that stems from a lost job or home foreclosure can be severe.
The problem of a home damaged by war, or a home foreclosure or eviction brings an even greater need for emotional healing. Having a home undergo foreclosure not only disrupts the lives of the family, it can also disrupt the emotional well being of each member. Every member of the family can be emotionally impacted in different ways. One member could experience a loss of trust. Another could feel unprotected. Yet another could feel like they were the one who let the rest of the family down. Each situation is different – but all people who are impacted by these kinds of negativity need emotional healing.
Support Groups And Community Healing Efforts
In many communities throughout the world, there are support groups or organizations that are designed to help those individuals who have lost friends, family members, their jobs, and their homes. Many of the people who volunteer for these organizations have suffered the same kind of loss and come through it changed, so they can readily identify with victims and help them see that emotional healing is possible. You really can come out alright on the other side of a tragic event – you will no doubt be changed forever, but you can indeed pick up the pieces of life and start over. There are counseling efforts underway to help families struggling with the identity loss that comes along with foreclosure, as well. If you or someone you love has suffered a loss of any kind, look for help from your faith community, or from volunteer counseling agencies.
Some individuals find themselves having to deal with their situation on their own. In cases like this, it is important to draw on your reserves of inner strength to begin the process of healing. Meditation can be a great help – you can call on a higher power or even access your own higher self to find the strength to heal your own emotions so that you can move forward in your life. Whether you’re suffering the trauma of divorce or the death of a loved one, or if you live in a war-torn area, or if you’re simply feeling sad about all the negativity in the world, look within yourself to find the bright light that exists deep inside each of us.
The Choice is Yours
Emotional healing begins with choices. You can change the way you feel about anything simply by choosing to have a more positive outlook. Choose to look for hidden lessons within tragedies, and choose to move forward with life, rather than dwelling on past events filled with pain and negativity. You can help friends, family members, and even your whole community by taking strides to heal yourself and others. Just as negativity can be contagious, so can the positive vibrations of emotional healing. Understanding that the feeling of “loss” is a very strong feeling that can overwhelm you if you let it is one way to move forward. Instead of focusing on “loss”,focus on what you still have. The best thing to do is to realize that “loss” is just an emotion. Someone once said that it is okay to feel loss and grief, but you don’t have to live with it forever! Just as storms come over the ocean and pass, our emotions should wash through us like waves. Feeling them fully, then releasing them is the healthiest thing to do.
Most of all, work on healing yourself from within. Just as a beautiful canyon must be carved by a river, and just as some wildflowers and trees need a fire to devastate the land where they grow, before they can flourish, so can we be transformed by a life changing ordeal.
