Healing is a deconstructive process to get back to the core of who you are underneath all the layers of adaptation. When the body is under stress – be it emotional, physical, spiritual, it puts up defense mechanisms in order to adapt – hence, “layers of adaptation.” I see this all the time on my own healing journey and with clients. They ask, “Didn’t I already deal with this? I thought that this part of me was healed, why is this coming up again?” Sometimes it feels like we just come full circle with an issue. We see the same traumatic situation from every angle before it is completely integrated and healed. This is because there is so much healing potential to be harnessed from difficult situations. Without difficulty, we would actually be quite weak and one dimensional.
Why Healing Isn’t Linear
For most of my life I have felt unwell. I remember as young as age 4 having chronic ear infections, intestinal gas, constipation, and muscle tension. By age 12 I was seeing psychiatrists for depression and gastroenterologists for my chronic acid reflux. Nobody ever found anything “wrong” with me. They just shoved anti-depressants, antacids, and prune juice at me and told me I was fine. But even from that early age, I had an inner knowing that something wasn’t right, regardless of what the specialists insisted.