Take Risks

Are there situations in your life that trigger the memory of something else whether it is good or bad? Have you even found any correlations between your past and your present?

 I came across a podcast called Breaking the Cycle by Celeste the Therapist that truly changed my perspective on pain and the effect it has on my past. I have encountered numerous individuals that find it difficult to move on in life due to their past haunting them. In this podcast, though, I learned the power of choices that cause great change in our lives. 

She explained in the podcast that oftentimes the brain is programmed to focus on specific things in life because it is what we are comfortable in or have experienced our whole lives. In other words, our brain recognizes or detects specific emotions because they are commonly experienced by the individual. Through this, our brain continues to hold pain and feed off the pain as we get older. Sometimes, without even realizing it, the pain perhaps decreased, but our brain still recognizes the feeling and brings us back to the moment where the pain began. 

After knowing the function of our brain in regard to pain, it does not all end there, but instead we realize the power we have in our hands to change our outcome. The question then becomes, are you tired of living in pain? Personally, I reached a point in my life where I became exhausted from living in pain and had to make a choice. A beautiful example from the podcast that resonated with me was as follows: When you eat something that makes your stomachache, you often avoid that specific food item in the future. Why? To not cause further pain and discomfort in your body, perhaps because you did not like the feeling of being ill so you would rather take care of your body. However, it is interesting that it is easy to take this step to protect our physical bodies, but it is hard to do the same when speaking about our mental health. We recognize that pain is harming us further and becoming part of our identity, yet we continue to feed it rather than letting it go.

For this reason, I challenge you to take the risk of doing something that appears uncomfortable. It may be that you are accustomed to focus on the pain and always end up reflecting on your past. I encourage you to take the risk for the better of yourself and your future. At first, it might seem impossible or hard to accept, but in the end, the results will be worth it. You will no longer live in torment and darkness, but rather peace and joy. 

Reference: 

Viciere, C. (Host). (09, May). Breaking the Cycle w/ Celeste The Therapist (Ep. 412) [Audio podcast episode]. In Celest the Therapist. Celeste the Therapist. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/celeste-the-therapist/id1406204612?i=1000612303828

Written by : Rachel Garcia; Masters Intern at Olive Branch

If you need support, live in the Chicago area, and would like to speak to a professional counselor, please contact Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc. at 708-633-8000. We are located at 6819 West 167th Street in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477.