Checking in and out of the Heartbreak Hotel

I have had my heart broken many times in my life; like most of us...

What does it mean to have your heart broken?

What it means for me is intense emotional pain, anguish, and sadness over something that is happening or happened in my life.

I have had my heart broken over several things in my life. Loss of friendships, relationships, and loved ones.

 My heart breaks when I see someone I love in pain.

What do I do when my heart is broken?

 Well my old self stuffed the pain...avoided it... ignored it...rationalized it and/or tried to numb it. I just tried to pretend it didn't happen.

I have recently had the chance to practice what I would do now if my heart was broken.

What I did was slip back and tried the old way of dealing with it...old habits die hard!

I tried to ignore it. I tried to blame myself for it; I tried to convince myself it wasn't there; I tried to get a rewind.

What happened when I did this...It made it worse!! Caused some insanity.

What I am slowly realizing about painful experiences is that I have to face them. I can't ignore them; I can't wish them away; I can't pretend they didn't happen.

I have to deal with them at "their" pace and not at my pace. I have to allow myself time to feel hurt and sadness before I move on. I have to recognize that being human means having my feelings hurt. Sometimes hurt badly.

I am learning to let myself sit with the pain until it passes; I am attempting not to overanalyze it and I am accepting it as a part of life.

I realize that the only way to avoid heartbreak is to stop opening myself up to love from others
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For me that is not living.....I know that on the other side of heartbreak is enormous love and joy and that is what  makes a life worth living.

What I also know for sure is that heartbreak heals and the storm never lasts forever....

Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G