Counseling for Christians
· Crystal McGowen
AM I ENOUGH?
The deepest questions of the human heart are timeless, ‘Am I enough?’ and ‘Am I loved?’ If we’re honest, we’ve all wondered about one or both of those questions in different seasons of our lives. Unfortunately, it is often a wounding from the people who are closest to us that cause us to ask these dark questions, resulting in soul-wounds.
You deserve to be loved and when situations and circumstances make you feel unloved, the most common response is anger. It is a natural response to the injustices around us and it is normal to be angry about neglect, abuse, betrayal, and unfair treatment.
Anger can be a friend at times, motivating us towards positive change and justice. However, left unchecked and unprocessed can also be a driving force to addictive behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, and pornography. At a core level, anger seeks to control, believing that the mastery of something else will medicate the pain deep inside.
However, anger is never the real problem, but rather a symptom of a soul-wound that needs healing.
COUNSELING TO HEAL SOUL WOUNDS
Therapy and group work is important for both anger and addiction recovery, but we’ve all known people who have faithfully attended both and still seem tied down. The truth is, behavioral modification fades in comparison to heart transformation, which is what will ultimately heal a soul-wound.
There are multiple therapeutic tools that can assist with this process, but there is one healing strategy that is proven effective over and over again. If you’re willing to dig in, you can master your anger and find victory over unwanted addictive behaviors, increasing both joy and peace in your life.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?
Forgive.
I’m not talking about fluffy faux-forgiveness. I’m talking about life-giving, soul-transforming forgiveness from the heart. Nathan wrote about forgiveness a few weeks ago, and it just might be the most important thing you can do for your emotional and spiritual health.
Forgiveness can release you from anger and set your life on a completely different trajectory, regardless of your past. Christian Counseling Services at Life Encounter Counseling can help you navigate this path, offering you faith-based approaches to work through your soul-wounds and find lasting healing.
“So far, the research studies on forgivenessxz have demonstrated numerous benefits to patients, including a lessening of depressive symptoms, diminished anxiety, increased hope, improved self-esteem, and a decreased preoccupation with offenders. In addition, the benefits observed in more than 35 years of clinical use include improved stability of mood, fewer impulsive behaviors, and improved ability to control angry feelings with less overreaction or misdirection of anger (Enright & FItzgibbons, 2015).”
If you find yourself consumed and dwelling on soul-wounds from the past, or if you feel angry and don’t know what to do next, or if you have unwanted addictive behaviors that you want to explore, maybe it’s time to face those hurtful wounds from your past and forgive.