Self healing is the ability to overcome emotional wounds and negative thoughts. This is important for our mental health as well as physical.
Nine experts and six older adults were interviewed for this study. Themes that emerged from their transcripts included physiology, psychology, and interpersonal relations.
Autonomic self-healing materials are those that can operate without any external stimuli. They most closely resemble biological systems in that they respond to damage by delivering healing agents to compromised regions.
1. Sensitivity to small things
Being highly sensitive can make you overreact to little things that would otherwise go unnoticed by others. This can be frustrating and stressful. Being able to accept and overcome this can help you live a happier life.
For example, if you’re sensitive to noises, you may want to make sure to wear ear plugs when attending social events. You can also practice self-compassion to understand your emotions and how they affect you, helping you become less overwhelmed by them.
Incorporating self-healing into your daily life is an ongoing process. Medicines, supplements and exercise can support your body’s healing processes, but it is only through a holistic approach that you can fully heal yourself. This includes physical, mental and emotional healing.
2. Negative thoughts
Negative thoughts and irrational beliefs can erode your confidence, making it harder to stick with recovery activities. You may start skipping self-help meetings or make excuses to reschedule your therapy appointments. Those kinds of actions increase your risk for relapse.
You can challenge negative thinking patterns by asking yourself, “Is that true?” You can also use tools like a thought journal or positive affirmations to replace them with healthier inner dialogue. It can be difficult to break a long-established pattern of negative self-talk, but consistent effort will eventually pay off.
Often, negative thoughts are the result of cognitive distortions, or unhelpful ways of thinking. Learning about these distortions and remembering that thoughts are not facts can help lessen their power. If you’re having a hard time changing the way you think, it’s important to maintain open lines of communication with family members and friends, so they can offer reassurance or gently push back against your negativity.
3. Apathy or indifference to others
Feelings of apathy can be triggered by feeling incompetent or useless. Apathy can also result from an accumulation of negative thoughts, or it could be the consequence of a difficult or unrelenting situation in your life that causes you to lose hope in yourself and others. If you find yourself feeling a lack of interest in life, apathy is a possible sign that you need to take steps to rebalance your emotions.
Apathy is different from hatred or dislike, and it often involves a lack of interest in the things that you used to like. Regardless of its cause, apathy can have serious consequences for yourself and those around you. Overcoming it requires a careful look at your life and re-establishing an attitude of compassion, empathy, and understanding for yourself. It is a process that can be helped along by staying socially connected, practicing mindfulness meditation, and getting adequate sleep and nutrition.
4. Revenge
Anger can fuel the desire for revenge, a primary driver of conflict and violence. Seeking revenge often begins with a meticulous planning phase and the expectation of short-term satisfaction. The desire for revenge may be driven by feelings of injustice, betrayal, or humiliation.
But the bitter reality is that seeking revenge often backfires. In fact, research in Science found that those who seek revenge experience more aggression and less emotional healing than those who do not seek revenge. In addition, the act of revenge triggers the wrongdoer to retaliate in return, which escalates conflicts.
Forgiveness is a powerful alternative to revenge and can help individuals heal from the harm caused by others. Forgiveness involves letting go of the desire to punish and replacing it with a willingness to understand the other person’s point of view. Revenge, reprisal, and retribution all suggest a punishment inflicted for a wrong received: He sought revenge for his brother’s murder.
