Understanding Emotions
Stemming From Childhood

Question: Due to my complex PTSD, my emotions constantly lead me astray. I become completely overwhelmed and fall back into emotions related to past events that no longer exist. I’ve had therapy after therapy. In my mind, I know these emotions stem from my childhood, and yet I keep falling back into that deep pit. I’m curious about your perspective.

Answer: Dear sis, the first thing that struck me in your question is your statement that  “these emotions stem from my childhood,” which is why I’ve chosen this title for this article.

Allow me to explain. It’s crucial to understand that emotions are always about the present moment. Emotions respond to what is happening right now. To change your emotions, we need to examine what you encountered just before that moment. Whether it was in your external world or your internal world (or your internal world reacting to the external world…) Remember though—we don’t necessarily have to look at your childhood or events from that time. We need to explore the beliefs you’ve stored and still believe… and cling to. These beliefs are triggered when you encounter something in the external world that you associate with your memories. Memories from which you drew certain conclusions. Emotions react to these conclusions! So, our task is to uncover the conclusions you believed at that moment and whether they are still useful to you. Here’s what you need to ask yourself:

• What conclusion or belief did you form?
• Is this belief still useful for you?

Every time you experience an emotion, you will need to ask yourself these questions. If the answer to the second question is yes, you can explore if you can view this belief from other perspectives to dissipate  its usefulness. If the answer is no, or it becomes a no after you explore it, it’s up to you to let it go immediately and shift your focus to something you prefer over this mindset (mindfuck). The sooner you act, the shallower that pit becomes.

This process requires considerable effort and the ability to observe your own mind, objectively,  from a distance. However, the simplicity of this approach makes it easy to apply. I’ve heard ex- (!) PTSD clients say that understanding this has saved them.