Grief and Healing Part Two

When a person commits acts of violence against another person, it's not uncommon for the victim to have feelings of leaving the body. It's a feeling experienced by survivors of incest, rape, child abuse, child sexual abuse, and interpersonal violence. Getting back into the body is one way to start healing some of the pain, grief, and suffering that comes with having a loved one hurt you.

If you have not experienced this feeling of being out of the body, it's a feeling of floating away from yourself - where it feels like you are looking at yourself from the outside. It's a way to numb out from extreme pain. The idea of getting back into the body is frightening for many survivors. It's the place where the harm took place. It can feel like an unsafe place. An article in yesterday's News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), includes information from a rape survivor describing this feeling. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/dail/story/1063876.html

We often believe that our memories only dwell somewhere in our brains. The trigger for memories dwells everywhere within us. I recently was shaking hands with a woman whose hands felt so much like my materal grandmother's hands. It flooded me with memories of holding her hands.

Finding a safe way to work on the painful memories in our bodies can bring healing in our lives. It can also return our bodies to us. The body can become a safe place to live again.