Comments for Shaking the past

Click here to add your own comments

May 22, 2008
 Nightmares revisited and shaking the past...
by: Darlene Barriere - Webmaster

Dreams and nightmares of the past can be triggered by other situations that are going on in your life, situations that often leave you with the same feelings that you had when you were growing up and dealing with the abuse, Hayley. When families continue with old patterns of behaviour, that too can trigger emotions that trigger further dreams.

It's been my experience that to simply say that one has put their past behind them isn't enough. Laying your past to rest is about dealing with the emotional residue of that past, and then forgiving the people that were responsible for inflicting the pain. And when I say forgive, I don't mean saying that what that person did was okay—of course it wasn't okay—nor am I saying that one must tell the person that s/he is forgiven. I'm talking about forgiveness in your heart that ultimately means letting go of any anger and hostility, saying that you will no longer be a prisoner to the emotions; that's what leaving the past behind you is all about, Hayley.

This is obviously still bothering you, so once again, I would recommend more counselling. I'm also going to recommend Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose and the Oprah.com webcast with Eckhart that discusses each chapter. Reading this book and listening to the webcasts may do you a world of good. You are so good at helping others, Hayley; how about making you the one to focus on right now.

Darlene Barriere
Violence & Abuse Prevention Educator
Author: On My Own Terms, A Memoir

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Child Abuse Commentary.

Return to Shaking the past

Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge the child abuse
stories on this site are true. While I cannot guarantee
this, I do try to balance the need for the submitter to be
heard and validated with the needs of my visitors.



E-book: Victim To Victory

From Victim to Victory
a memoir

How I got over the devastating effects of child abuse and moved on with my life

Read more...

Most Recent

RSS

  1. Converging Stolen Lives

    Jan 30, 18 01:13 PM

    There was a time and space I didn’t think about you, or your abuse. Where when I looked back at my life, I only saw normal things, a normal childhood.

    Read More

  2. A letter to one of the 13 Turpin children

    Jan 29, 18 11:33 AM

    A heartfelt letter by a former classmate that speaks to bullying and regrets. You'll find it on my Facebook group. I hope you'll join and get in on the discussion.

    Read More

  3. Dissociated From Abuse

    Jan 29, 18 11:00 AM

    I was sexually abused by my father from age 6 to 13, which stopped when I started talking about it during the day. The teenage brother of my best friend

    Read More

E-book: Victim To Victory

From Victim to Victory
a memoir

How I got over the devastating effects of child abuse and moved on with my life

Read more...