What Hypnobirthing Has Taught Me About Emotional Pain
Last night, I drove past the hospital where I gave birth to both of my babies.
My heart jumped, a bit painfully, as the emotions I remember experiencing during labor swept through me again. "That's interesting," I thought. "The emotions that strike me most about the times I gave birth to my children occurred just before they were born, not after. Why is that?"
Aside from feeling slightly guilty that my most meaningful memories related to giving birth to my children weren't the moments I met them, I was curious. I realized that the hours and minutes before giving birth contained probably the most intense physical experiences of my life. It makes sense that I would remember those emotions best.
I thought to myself, "Those moments when I was overwhelmed by intense sensations almost completely beyond my control allowed (perhaps forced) me to connect to something beyond the physical to ground myself. I needed to connect to something spiritual to get through it without losing my mind."
I've talked in detail in previous posts about my experiences with Hypnobirthing. One of the ideas in this philosophy is that avoiding the use of pain medication during labor allows a woman to stay more in tune with her body, to better work with it rather than against it. Of course, it also helps to remain calm during the birthing process so she can stay connected with her body and allow blood to flow to the correct areas to support the work her body is trying to do. This also helps reduce pain and discomfort during labor.
Interesting, I think, that I needed to connect to something spiritual, rather than physical, to stay in tune with my body during labor. I needed to cling to something beyond the physical to accept and transcend the pain enough to really feel what my body was actively doing and support that process, rather than drown in fear. Nothing bad was happening, but my mind wanted to respond to the pain that way. I needed to overcome the instinct to panic in order to remember that nothing was wrong and that I was capable of working with my body to deliver my baby.
Over the past few years, I've been adapting this concept to periods of emotional pain and growth. Just like I've found comfort and safety in the physical, I've also found comfort and safety in things that are emotionally familiar or easy. I've also avoided emotional pain like I used to avoid physical pain. Now, though, I'm accepting the fact that a process similar to labor takes place when I experience emotional pain. The emotional pain has the potential to transform me and give birth to something beautiful, but unlike delivering a baby, the beautiful emotional gem won't appear unless I choose to transcend the pain by connecting to something beyond the physical and emotional. With labor, the baby will come whether I connect to the spiritual or not. But emotional pain won't yield positive results unless I make the conscious choice to connect to the spiritual, accept the pain, and work with the process to produce that something beautiful.
My heart jumped, a bit painfully, as the emotions I remember experiencing during labor swept through me again. "That's interesting," I thought. "The emotions that strike me most about the times I gave birth to my children occurred just before they were born, not after. Why is that?"
Aside from feeling slightly guilty that my most meaningful memories related to giving birth to my children weren't the moments I met them, I was curious. I realized that the hours and minutes before giving birth contained probably the most intense physical experiences of my life. It makes sense that I would remember those emotions best.
I thought to myself, "Those moments when I was overwhelmed by intense sensations almost completely beyond my control allowed (perhaps forced) me to connect to something beyond the physical to ground myself. I needed to connect to something spiritual to get through it without losing my mind."
I've talked in detail in previous posts about my experiences with Hypnobirthing. One of the ideas in this philosophy is that avoiding the use of pain medication during labor allows a woman to stay more in tune with her body, to better work with it rather than against it. Of course, it also helps to remain calm during the birthing process so she can stay connected with her body and allow blood to flow to the correct areas to support the work her body is trying to do. This also helps reduce pain and discomfort during labor.
Interesting, I think, that I needed to connect to something spiritual, rather than physical, to stay in tune with my body during labor. I needed to cling to something beyond the physical to accept and transcend the pain enough to really feel what my body was actively doing and support that process, rather than drown in fear. Nothing bad was happening, but my mind wanted to respond to the pain that way. I needed to overcome the instinct to panic in order to remember that nothing was wrong and that I was capable of working with my body to deliver my baby.
Over the past few years, I've been adapting this concept to periods of emotional pain and growth. Just like I've found comfort and safety in the physical, I've also found comfort and safety in things that are emotionally familiar or easy. I've also avoided emotional pain like I used to avoid physical pain. Now, though, I'm accepting the fact that a process similar to labor takes place when I experience emotional pain. The emotional pain has the potential to transform me and give birth to something beautiful, but unlike delivering a baby, the beautiful emotional gem won't appear unless I choose to transcend the pain by connecting to something beyond the physical and emotional. With labor, the baby will come whether I connect to the spiritual or not. But emotional pain won't yield positive results unless I make the conscious choice to connect to the spiritual, accept the pain, and work with the process to produce that something beautiful.
Comments
Post a Comment