Written by: Dr. Robert Ciprian, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
How “Dark night of the soul” behavioral health challenges can be helped with emotional healing routines. Despite being a practitioner of several emotional healing methods, I personally realized at one point in my life that a daily routine can be very useful to get out of a behavioral health challenge. Even though I was working with several professionals on my mental stresses, it was like trying to bail the water out of a sinking boat with a shot glass until I started a regular letting-go practice.
When I found myself needing emotional help
It was the spring of 2016, and I had recently moved to the Washington, DC, area from Portland, OR. My dreams for love and career were at an all-time high. I felt this next step in my life was it! After a few years of long-distance dating with the love of my life, we committed and moved in together into a beautiful new apartment. I recently started work for a state-of-the-art, large holistic practice just a short drive out of downtown DC. There were big promises for love and career and I went for them.
Soon after I started a new life in the DC area, things began going downhill. My relationship was deteriorating and I was holding on emotionally, trying to weather out the storm. I realized the office I started work with only saw me as a cog in a large machine and I was not fulfilled with my work there. I was in a dark place emotionally and spiritually. I had some professional help from practitioners that I trusted, but the day-to-day pain and struggle were too much. I was depressed, shut down, and in despair.
Taking responsibility for my healing
When I was at rock bottom, I embraced a daily routine of allowing the negative emotions I was experiencing to have their way with me. I surrendered and felt them. No more pushing them away and trying to force happiness or even a glimmer of OK-ness. Then, after a period, they would melt away so I could reprogram what I was feeling with positive feelings and thinking. I did this several times a day whenever I felt the weight of the darkness again. Then as I was starting to get momentum with feeling good, like the sun was shining again, I would have the slightest acknowledgment of unfavorable feelings or thoughts. whenever I noticed these peeking out, I would grab them by the thread and pull on them until I found their source under the surface.
This practice became the most important thing to me on a daily basis besides breathing and eating. It drastically changed how I was feeling and what was going on in my life. This method pulled me out of a “dark night of the soul.”
More complimentary tools for mental healing need to be normalized
In my over twenty years of being a holistic doctor, I have seen that the most overlooked part of healthcare is in the area of behavioral health. These problems can be assisted by practicing emotional healing techniques. Some of the most common behavioral health disorders, as stated by the World Health Organization, are anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In my opinion, the standard of care for these is stuck in a very limited frame of mind. There have been many alternative types of work that show success with these challenges, but they are rarely taken on seriously by larger organizations that can have the largest influence and impact. Among the many types of remedies that are alternatives to pharmaceutical medications that can help are meditation, exercise, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, dietary adjustments, and now even plant medicines. Some people are just fine with medications that may help, but many more people want a natural solution to these emotionally challenging or even life-crippling conditions.
3 step process of Letting Go for emotional wellbeing
The tool I used to get myself out of my behavioral health crisis is a very simple and effective method. Several authors and teachers have talked about it in one way or another. For this article, let’s call it the “Letting Go” technique that was popularized by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. Allow me to run through a simple description of how to use my version of it.
1. Feel the emotion as completely as possible
Become aware of the emotions you are experiencing
Start to use as many of your senses as you can to focus on it
The more senses that you relate to it, the more thorough the work
Notice where the feeling is in your body
Does it have a shape?
Does it have a color?
Does it have a sound?
Does it have a texture?
Does it have a taste?
Does it have a smell?
2. Process the feeling
Surrender to the feeling and related emotions
Welcome it
Have a curiosity about it
Allow it to move, change,and morph throughout your being
Turn up the intensity of what you are experiencing
Make all your sensations of it more intense
Let it make you feel more uncomfortable
Allow yourself to tremble, cry, scream or whatever may come up
Keep up the intensity until the sensations start to change and diminish
When you feel that you have processed most of it, ask yourself internally, “Am I ready to release this?”
If you get a sense of, “Yes, I am ready to release this” let it go out of your space to the universe, God or mother earth, etc
Request that the wound it caused be healed, witness the healing
3. Replace what you just processed with what you do want to feel instead
Once you have released the last of the feeling you need to fill the empty space with what you do want in your awareness/life
Love
Peace
Joy
•Forgiveness
Healing
Resolution, etc
Observe the new energy fill the void that you just created and feel the new sensations that it brings with it
The observation is important for change to occur
“Feeling is healing” ‒ Sasha Cobra
Repeat this process of Letting Go on a regular basis to keep the layers of healing going. If you are in a very severe emotional state, after doing enough Letting Go, you will notice things get better emotionally. When they are feeling better, be aware and vigilant for any little signs of other emotions that are still under the surface and process them. They can sometimes lead to much larger feelings that are still below the surface. Maintain your emotional wellbeing holistically
Keep up the maintenance in your life. This is a great tool to use when you are feeling the emotional stresses build up, even if you are not in a desperate situation. The maintenance will keep you from building up the negative emotions under the surface, and life will be much more manageable even in tough times.
In a holistic view of health, there are many other facets of well-being that have an impact on your behavioral health. Health is a dynamic thing. If we take care of the basic necessities, we will have more resilience to the stress of life. If you would like to learn more, feel free to opt into my email list to get a free video on my top five keys to well-being.
Dr. Robert Ciprian, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Robert Ciprian grew up in a challenging childhood in Queens, NY. Through his transformational journey of healing and wellbeing, he became a doctor of chiropractic & holistic medicine, teacher, author, and executive coach. He has studied various energetic and spiritual healing methods over the past 25 years. Dr. Ciprian has taught across the country to healthcare professionals of multiple disciplines as well as the general public.
