Our past can be a two-edged sword.
Your past has lots of good and not-so-good memories, isn’t that right? Happy memories may include playing with friends at the local playground or playing hide and seek with your cousins. How many of us remember riding our bikes from sun up until sundown? Childhood has rays of sunshine from days ago. Summer seemed that it would never end, didn’t it?
For many people, memories include painful thoughts and even trauma. Perhaps you remember a time when arguments occurred with your parents. Sadly, some good people like you remember screaming and yelling at home as a child. Some can still fill the sting of being criticized as if it occurred yesterday. Such negative thoughts can paralyze many individuals years later. Painful experiences of the past can shape our thought processes today.
Focusing on the past can even lead to worrying about the future. Those thoughts of failure and inner hurt from the past can cause the brain to think that, inevitably, something else will go wrong today. “I am not good enough or ‘This will never work out for me’ becomes a mantra. If we are not careful, we can even influence our spouse or children to think about such negativity. If we consider how our past environment shaped our present state, then surely we can agree our feelings and behaviors can affect those around us. If I worry and have anxiety, would I not be surprised if my children also become adults who worry and have fears? The cycle of pain can pass from one generation to the next.
At Commitment to Hope, we are skilled at utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy and strength-based therapy to help you overcome past trauma and pain. Self-doubt can be replaced with confidence. The past can’t be redone, but surely the future can be a journey of peace and healing.
Please reach out and make an appointment so our therapists can empower you to succeed. We have offices in Cleveland, Canton, and Toledo and serve all of Ohio through Telehealth Therapy.
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