06/11/2024
Many of my clients seek hypnotherapy to confront and process big emotions. Interestingly, these emotions often originate from their earliest years, not just from adolescence or adulthood.
During our sessions, I witness adults expressing their pain with the raw intensity of infantile wailing and weeping.
Through the therapeutic process, we often discover that these individuals were discouraged from expressing their sadness or anger/ frustrations openly as children. Their caregivers would suppress their cries, inadvertently teaching them to suppress their feelings.
“Good kids don’t cry.”
“No, don’t cry- be happy”
“Stop crying; it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Be brave, don’t cry.”
Each of these remarks, though often meant to soothe or quiet, can inadvertently make a child feel that their feelings are unwarranted or inappropriate, which can lead to people-pleasing behaviors, perfectionism, and other mental health issues.
Responsive parenting dictates that when a child cries, they require our full presence, empathy, and guidance in navigating their feelings.
Crying is a fundamental and healthy outlet for children, allowing them to express a range of emotions and release pent-up stress. Dismissing a child’s tears can convey a message that their emotions are neither relevant nor accepted.
Children cry for numerous reasons, comparable to adults—because they are hurt, angry, frustrated, sad, unwell, or simply tired.
Sometimes they have been holding an emotion in all day and just want to let out.
Supporting children through these moments of emotional intensity is crucial, not only in their early development but also in shaping their emotional resilience and processing abilities in later life.
As a mother to a sensitive soul I also need to remind myself of this- my job is to not always rush in and stop the crying even if that feels uncomfortable sometimes .
Crying is healthy ♥️
