The Truth Will Set You Free - But First It Will Piss You Off
I heard the quote that is the title of this post a few years ago. A friend of mine shared it with me when describing what it's like to go through a journey of self-care and healing from trauma. I didn't realize he was quoting Ted Lasso at the time, but that doesn't change the truth behind the statement.
As we begin to do the work of understanding who we are at our core and what things bring us pain, we will have many self-realizations. When you discover a truth, it resonates in your soul. It's hard to describe the exact feeling I personally experience, but in my core I just know that the thing I just realized or learned is undeniably true.
Often times this realization is then followed by a complex unraveling of emotions as you sit in it. Depending on what you have just come to realize, it'll often make you quite upset.
- Upset at the injustice of it all.
- Upset at the fact that you had to deal with the pain and trauma that lead to this point.
- Upset that the initial pain lead to even more pain.
- Upset that there's nothing you can do to change the past.
And on it goes. The emotional roller coaster doesn't follow a linear progression either, so it often looks like feeling these emotions more than once. We are complex beings with deep personal histories to work through, so why would we expect any healing to be fast?
It's not all frustrating or bad, though. Eventually you will come out the other side of the realization tunnel and that's where freedom is found... and when you do find it, oh man, is it good.
Suddenly the knowledge that was frustrating becomes the very thing that gives the freedom to be you. There's nothing like being authentically and fully yourself, one step at a time.
So be brave. Dig into the pain when you're ready. Know that you make sense. You're not crazy. The past really did happen to you, but you need to be willing to explore the feelings it left behind and then live in the present.
It's not easy, but it's worth it.