This is an installment in a series called Healing Turning Points: Transforming Pain into Self-Love.
The purpose of this series is to show you that you are not alone, that others have experienced the same pains you have, and that there is a path to healing.
You can catch up with all installments of the Healing Turning Points series below:
Part 1: Dysfunctional Relationships and Candida
Part 2: Asthma, Bulimia, Body Image
Part 3: Addictions, Self Hatred, Anxiety Disorders
Part 4: Itching, Hives, and Self-Neglect
Part 6: Insomnia, Anxiety, Candida, and Emotional Trauma
Part 7: Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening
Part 8: Codependency and Yeast Infections
Part 9: Healing Turning Points: Depression, Anxiety, and Skin Issues
Healing our emotional wounds is a journey that is unique for each person and full of twists and turns, as well as surprising realizations.
While we can be mostly healed from our past, our growth continues and as we grow, different aspects of ourselves are brought to light. This can bring up new aspects of early wounds. This is just a natural part of the healing process.
But one thing that is true for me, and has been for all the people I’ve helped, is that you never forget that point – the point in your life when you finally said, “ENOUGH!”
I call this the “Healing Turning Point”.
We get to our Healing Turning Point in our own time, some people suffer longer than others before deciding to seek the help they need, but eventually, we all experience that moment when we know something has to change.
Today, my client, Alison, is sharing her Healing Turning Point story…
In the fall of 2020, my body was falling apart, I was disconnected, disempowered, and a shell of my former self.
Physically, I was struggling with chronic yeast infections, chronic back and hip pain, fatigue, and interstitial cystitis. Emotionally I was anxious, overwhelmed, and suffering from self-doubt and low self-worth.
I didn’t understand the connection yet, but I had let unhealthy patterns and relationships consume me and take away my health, freedom, and hope. I was people-pleasing, not using my voice and abandoning myself for validation and love. My body was screaming out for these messages to be heard.
One year earlier, I had committed to prioritizing my health and getting to the bottom of my chronic health problems. I had tried everything – antifungals, supplements, and restrictive diets, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, therapy, physiotherapy, EMDR, and more – and I was feeling more lost than when I started.
This was when I came across Elicia’s 6-week CEH class and I knew I needed to take it. I had heard about the connection between emotions and physical symptoms and I had recently become aware that I was codependent. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together for me…
In the 6-week class, I learned that chronic physical symptoms are the result of unexpressed emotions. Connecting with your inner child and validating, feeling, and then expressing repressed emotions is key to the Core Emotional Healing process.
Elicia taught us how to listen to the messages from our body, connect with our inner child, access and release our repressed emotions, and set boundaries. It was exhilarating to learn this and connect my emotions to my physical symptoms – it was like a lightbulb turning on allowing me to see the whole picture.
Connecting with Elicia and the other group members was also very healing. I was finally with a group of people who understood and shared my experience. Prior to this, I was so ashamed of my symptoms and thought I was alone because I never discussed them with anyone.
The 6-week course revealed what I needed so I joined Elicia and Doug’s 6-month CEH Group Program to help me do it, that’s when the real work started.
This is when my defenses and protections really flared up. My anxiety and fear spiked, and I struggled to trust support.
Growing up my feelings and needs often weren’t acknowledged. As a child, this made me feel scared, overwhelmed, and alone. I protected myself by disconnecting and trying to manage my emotions on my own.
Now that I was facing this, my feelings felt so intense and overwhelming that at one point I thought I couldn’t continue the process.
Elicia and Doug guided me through this with love and patience. I felt heard and seen by them and I started to trust that I could express myself and feel supported.
I was finally receiving the validation that I needed as a child, this allowed me to start connecting with and processing my emotions.
The next block I encountered was around my attachment to diet and supplement protocols.
When I started the 6-month CEH group, I was seeing many practitioners at once and believed that my restrictive diet and Chinese medicine protocol were essential to my healing. I was overwhelming and exhausting myself with appointments and protocols. I shared my confusion and frustration with Elicia and Doug.
They helped me understand that perfectionism, control, and being dependent on other people’s protocols (rather than my own inner guidance) can be disempowering and is part of the cycle that created the imbalance in the first place.
With this understanding, I decided to stop following other people’s protocols and I started eating intuitively. This was a huge breakthrough for me – a step towards taking my power back and trusting my body.
For the last three months, I have let go of the control and restriction around my diet and supplements.
This has allowed me to rest and connect with what my body needs. In the future, I may decide that taking supplements again or working with a practitioner is the right thing for me. The key is to focus on things that feel empowering and supportive.
Within the first month in CEH, the chronic back and hip pain that I had been struggling with for 2 years went away.
The pain flared up again when I stopped seeing all of the body practitioners I was working with. Rather than running back for an appointment, I checked in with myself and realized I was afraid of not having professional support. I connected with my inner child and reassured her that I was taking care of her and that we didn’t need to depend on them for healing. My pain hasn’t returned since. If it does, I trust my ability to listen to my body.
The next big shift was starting to use my voice and stand up for myself. I slowly started to set boundaries and in doing so, unhealthy relationships became apparent. With Elicia and Doug’s guidance, I started to uncover blind spots that were present in my life. These blind spots and blocks were so persistent that Elicia and Doug encouraged me to do a private experiential session to work through it.
During the session, Elicia and Doug guided me to express my repressed emotions – particularly my anger. I was able to really access and express my anger and speak my truth. In doing this, I became the person that my inner child needed all along.
The private experiential session was incredibly powerful and transformative. It allowed me to set boundaries and change dynamics that I truly believed were impossible to change. Elicia and Doug empowered me to do this in a way that no one else had.
Connecting with my anger and expressing it has been one of the biggest challenges and gifts of the CEH process. I never felt safe expressing my anger as a child and as a result, I bottled it up. Over the course of my 6 months in group, I would connect with and express my anger and then retreat into periods of fear and blocking my expression. Elicia and Doug would sense this and gently encourage me to continue my anger processing. Being able to express my anger in front of Elicia and Doug in my experiential process was a huge breakthrough for me. I now know that is it ok to be angry and I have the tools to access and express it in a healthy way.
During this process I had to really face myself, lean into resistance and revisit and process memories, emotions, and traumas that were extremely difficult to face.
Opening up and trusting support took time and this was an important part of my healing.
It was hard but so worth it.
After 6 months of Core Emotional Healing, my body is settling, and I am connecting with my true self.
I am so clear when something feels right or wrong to me and I listen to those messages from my body. Feeling like I am finally returning home to myself is the biggest gift of this whole journey. I am more grounded than ever and anxiety is no longer a daily experience for me.
I am learning to trust my inner guidance rather than looking for external validation. I have shifted from repressing my emotions to expressing them. I am accessing and acknowledging my gifts – my intuition, voice, and clarity. I am able to trust my instincts and feel clear about making decisions in my business and personal life. This is helping me uncover and find my true calling and purpose in life.
I now practice discernment in my relationships and who I surround myself with. This means that I have more time and energy for the people who mean the most to me, like my husband and my friends.
Being in touch with my emotions and expressing them has also improved my relationships. My husband is now learning about connecting with his emotions and expressing them. I have been able to have conversations that have been healing for me and my family.
I feel like I am just beginning to experience the richness of these relationships and I can’t wait to see how much more they grow and flourish from here.
My time in the group was essential for building safety and trust in relationships. I was able to hold space for others and feel seen and supported in my most vulnerable moments.
I have done both one on one and group therapy and I have found that there is so much more healing and insight that occurs in a group setting. I truly hope everyone has the opportunity to find this level of support!
When I started this healing journey in 2019, I had no idea it would lead me to this work and to Elicia and Doug.
Through this process, Elicia and Doug have empowered me to become my own healer, to listen to my body, and to trust my own inner guidance.
I know that there are many layers to healing and the work is never done. I still have some symptoms which lets me know there is more to unravel and learn from my body. I am no longer afraid of my symptoms or disconnected from my body. I believe in myself and my ability to heal. I am so grateful to have this framework and support for my healing journey and I look forward to what’s to come.
– Alison
I hope you enjoyed reading Alison’s story and it showed you what is possible for you.
With so much love,
Elicia