One of the symptoms that many trauma survivors carry is the feeling of being a burden.
I want to remind you that “symptoms” are a form of memory…
in other words, if you think you are a burden, you were at one point made to feel like a burden….but this doesn’t mean this is true. There is a part inside of you that was made to feel that way, and they need to be unburdened by this feeling.
Some points of reflection
How old does this part of you feel?
How did feeling like a burden help you survive? (i.e., Perhaps feeling like a burden helped you stop seeking comfort from an unavailable parent).
Thank this part of you for helping you survive in this way AND let them know they no longer need to carry this belief. It no longer needs to be a burdensome belief.
Shout out to Parts Work!
It is such a more compassionate way to look at “symptoms” and to acknowledge the protective ways in which parts of us learned to survive.
