Expressing the Past
We all deal with things that happened in our past differently. Some of us push those hard feelings away and use distraction as a way to cope for as long as we can. Sometimes things happen to us that we don’t even realize had such a big impact until we go to therapy years later and the counselor picks up on it. No matter what we do with our past, it’s important to find the balance between too much rumination and refusing to ever acknowledge it. We talk about this in other posts, so today, let’s just talk about expressing the past.
Expressing or processing our past doesn’t always look like talking it out with a therapist, friend, family member, etc. One of my favorite musical artists is Adele. She has always been at the top of my list, even as a younger teenager. For whatever reason, her songs have always been able to evoke emotions out of me. She has put into words what I could never and didn’t know how to say. Often, I can listen to a song (new or old) and say “That’s it! That’s how I’m feeling / I felt.” What comes next is just pouring out my heart into the song, as I process and release that emotion. Okay, I can be done fangirling about Adele now.
What I’m trying to get at is that there are different ways to process our past besides talking. I think we can all agree that music is one of these ways. If you’re struggling to deal with some of those hard emotions from the past, or the present, just try to listen to some music. And I’m not talking about the hype music - I’m asking you to put on the “feels” music. Not forever. Not even for very long. But allow yourself to get into that headspace sometimes. We like to joke around about getting “on your feels,” but sometimes it’s necessary.
Other ways to express our past are through other forms of creativity. Writing is one. Do you like to journal? Does writing everything out help you make sense of the hard? During some of the more emotionally challenging times in my life, it was helpful for me to write letters (that I would never send) to help with the pent up emotion. How about painting? Using different colors or methods can help with expression. Do you need to just splat the paint across the canvas? Poetry is another way, similar to music. Either reading poetry or writing your own can provoke thought. There are some great poets out there who have been able to express their own pain in ways that others can understand too. Take a look at what they had to say.
Expressing our past or present is important in making sure we are healing and staying in tune with ourselves. Take inventory - how are you doing right now? What is left still unresolved?
Challenges/Points:
Expressing our past can be hard to do at times. Just talking about it with someone else isn’t always easy or helpful.
There are other ways to express our emotions or process them - music, writing, painting, and poetry are just a couple ways.
Take inventory today. See what may still be unresolved or unprocessed in your life. If talking hasn’t worked, maybe try a creative form of processing.
Questions:
Do you find it difficult to properly express your emotions? Or, to express them in a way that makes sense even to you?
How do you typically process what has already happened or what is happening?
Which of these creative outputs can you use to help with that expression?
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