Angela T. Moore: Heal From a Place of Health, Not Hurt!
Angela Moore
| 5 min read
Have you experienced trauma in your life? Are you currently experiencing a traumatic event?
According to Psychology Today, “Trauma is a person’s emotional response to a distressing experience. Few people can go through life without encountering some kind of trauma.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to healing, most people struggle to heal because they attempt to heal from a hurtful place instead of from a healthy place.
When you can heal from a place of health instead of a place of hurt, it allows you to heal powerfully forward.
Healing from a hurtful place
For so many years in my own personal life, I made excuses for my bad decisions and justified my dysfunctional behaviors which led to more hurt, more pain.
I blamed others for what they had done to me, or not done for me.
I blamed my upbringing and my environment.
I defined myself as a “victim” because of the trauma that I had experienced instead of a “victor” because of what I had overcome.
What I realized, was that I was using my past as an excuse to not heal, to not move forward. All that changed when I finally took a real hard look at myself and listened to what I was telling myself. I did not like what I saw and I did not like what I was saying to myself so I decided to change.
I decided to start healing from a place of health, not hurt.
Healing from a place of health removes the excuses. It does not allow you to justify bad decisions and unhealthy behaviors, it makes you take the personal responsibility you need to grow forward.
Also, healing from a place of health can motivate you to make healthy decisions and integrate healthy actions into your day, each and every day, regardless of how you feel and regardless of situations and circumstances happening around you.
I had already experienced the healing and health benefits of running in the 10th grade following the traumatic death of my mother. Adding other ways of being physically active, healthier eating combined with this healthier mindset has allowed me to radically change my life.
Do you want to heal from a healthy place? Are you ready to change your life?
Healing from a place of health is a daily journey that starts with your mind and ends with your actions.
Mind shift
It starts with the mind.
Each day, you must intentionally shift your mind to a healthy place.
Every day I wake up, I am consistently challenged to shift my mind from a place of hurt to a place of health.
Why the need for the intentional mind shift?
You must understand that I grew up in a dysfunctional environment, and when you have grown up in a dysfunctional environment, you tend to think dysfunctional first.
You may ask, how do I shift my mind to a healthy place?
- Take time for prayer and/or meditation
- Speak kind words to yourself
- Repeat positive affirmations that represent how you want to feel
Speaking positive and encouraging words to yourself and taking time to nurture your spirit will help you shift your mind.
Intentionally shifting to a healthy mindset helps you change that “stinking thinking.”
And I have learned the only way to control that stinking thinking is through healthy actions.
Integrating healthy actions throughout your day allows you to live and work in a healthy way.
You may ask, how can I integrate healthy actions into a busy day?
- Choose healthy high nutrient and low calories foods
- Create a realistic work schedule
- Take time for physical movement and structured exercise
- Manage time, schedule in breaks, and maintain boundaries
Eating well, creating a realistic work schedule, incorporating physical movement and structured exercise into your day, managing your time, scheduling in breaks, and maintaining work boundaries supports a healthy work life.
Also, healthy actions help you stay focused, physically and mentally aligned with your goals.
Challenges and obstacles will constantly try to stop or impede you from moving forward. A strong mind and body will not only help you push pass those challenges and obstacles but help you grow from them.
Ending the day in a healthy place
I have also learned that how you decide to end your day is extremely important. It is an intentional decision to be healthy that sets the tone for the night and the following day.
Do you end your day from a hurtful place or from a healthful place?
From a place of hurt — regret over a goal you didn’t accomplish, disappointment over a mistake you made, frustration with a loved one or co-worker.
Or…
From a place of health — hopefulness over the possibilities of tomorrow, excitement about future learning opportunities, grace for a loved one or co-worker.
You truly have the power to decide how your days ends and how your tomorrow begins, so make the intentional decision to end it on a good note understanding that tomorrow is a new beginning.
Every day can either be an opportunity to fall back into a place of hurt or heal forward from a place of health.
Heal from a place of health, not hurt!
Opinions expressed in this blog belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan or its subsidiaries and affiliates.
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