Many times I’ve heard people around me telling that they are in pain.
Whenever I heard it, I would instantly connect it with physical pain (because that’s the most frequent type), but these pains were definitely not of physical origin.
I didn’t realize that they were actually soul pain.
So, what exactly is soul pain?
Is it an imaginary pain that entraps our soul like a plague and forces us to fight for our own lives?
Is it something undefinable but felt by everyone?
Driven by my own experiences (as a young woman) and those of other people, I feel confident to state that soul pain is a combination of both physical pain and emotional pain.
It is a kind of pain that exhibits physical, mental, emotional, and social distress due to a tragic, traumatic or stressful situation or life event.
Summarized, it is the worst kind of pain that can destroy you on a physical, mental and on every other level that you didn’t know even existed!
Soul pain is an accumulation of negative emotions, pain, and distress triggered by certain life events like losing your loved one, constant mistreatment by others (on social media or in real life), humiliation, unresolved problems, and similar.
When your soul is in pain, the suffering prevents soul growth, and you gradually lose the sense of belonging.
If you feel drained emotionally and like your physical body is falling apart because the pain seems to be in the body (and it is not because of a disease), you might be going through severe soul pain without even being aware of it!
See also: 6 Signs You’re Emotionally Drained And How To Deal With It
If you notice any of the following signs, your soul might have been suffering for a long time now.
So, if you find any similarities between your current situation and the descriptions of the signs below, don’t forget to proceed to techniques for healing soul pain (below) that will help you cope with your traumatic event and be your guide in the healing process.
You have difficulties being in the moment
If you (frequently) find yourself disconnected from reality and find it difficult to be in the moment, it means you’re too much focused on a past or future event.
Your body is present in real time and in a real place, but your mind is travelling to past moments or possible future events because your soul is restless due to a traumatic event from your past.
If you often feel like you can’t be in the moment, it is a huge sign that your soul is suffering and your mind is occupied with things that need to be acknowledged and processed in order to start the healing process.
See also: 8 Signs Of Repressed Emotions & Ways To Handle Them Successfully
You feel stuck in an aspect/aspects of your life
Do you feel like no matter what you do or say, you’re not moving forward?
Do you feel stuck in an aspect/aspects of your life and you don’t know how to get out of this vicious cycle?
Feeling stuck is another big sign of severe soul pain.
If you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and you no longer have hope for better days regarding your job, friendship, family, etc., it means you’re stuck in your own negative emotions due to a certain event from your past.
You have a tendency to keep yourself busy all the time
Keeping yourself busy all the time is our body and mind’s way to stay distracted from real problems and issues that are bothering us.
This is most often on a subconscious level which means that you’re not even aware of the fact that you’re keeping yourself busy all the time.
But, if you notice that you’re doing it, know that you’re subconsciously refusing to face what’s bothering you.
You keep yourself occupied because you can’t handle the burden of your past that is causing you soul pain.
You pretend that you’re perfectly fine even though you’re falling apart on the inside
Whenever you’re leaving the house, going to your work or going to meet with your friends and family, you always have a smile on your face even though you’re falling apart on the inside.
And when you get home, the first second you open the door, you feel free to stop smiling and be who you really are.
Since you don’t understand what is really going on, you always automatically put on a happy face because even if they asked you about how you really felt, you would have no idea what to tell them.
That is why you choose to pretend that you’re happy even though deep down in your heart, you know it is just a mask.
See also: Read This Every Time You Feel Like You’re Falling Apart
You feel chronically tired
You feel extreme physical exhaustion even though you’re not that physically active.
You cannot target the root of being tired constantly, and all you know is that you feel drained both physically and mentally.
This is the very definition of soul pain, and if you feel like this, you can be sure that it is your soul that’s suffering and not your body or something else.
When our mind and soul are fighting to process or delete painful events from our past, it reflects on our well-being, and it influences every aspect of our life.
Your body and mind are displaying signs of distress
You have continual episodes of illness (colds, flu), breathing difficulties, extreme fatigue, sleep problems, panic attacks, and intense pain.
All of these signs are side effects of extreme soul pain in which your body and mind are fighting with painful emotions.
These signs of distress can progress to the extent of making you think that you’re seriously ill and that you need medical help.
But, what is really going on is that your soul needs healing and not your body.
When you heal your soul pain, your body and mind will heal as well.
You feel like something’s not right, but you don’t really know what it is or you’re afraid of facing it
You feel in your gut that something’s not right, but you can’t decipher what it is or you’re just afraid of facing it.
Due to that, you force yourself to constantly be occupied with other things.
If you feel that something’s utterly wrong but you have no explanation for it, then you know the pain is on a deeper level – it stems from your soul.
But, if you’re perfectly aware why you’re feeling that way, and you’re still refusing to acknowledge it, know that prolonging the pain will only result in more pain and your ending up in limbo – physical and emotional numbness.
That is why it is important to start the healing process ASAP and face your fears before it gets too late.
TECHNIQUES FOR HEALING SOUL PAIN
If you’ve just realized that you might be the victim of soul pain, please do not worry.
Instead, you should be happy because you will finally break free from the shackles of your painful, traumatic event, and once you finish with the healing process, you will feel like a newborn.
Here are some of the techniques that will help you heal your soul pain and cure you mentally and physically.
For the best results in the shortest time possible, it is recommended to combine all of them in accordance with your preferences and the current situation, of course.
Meditate
I’m pretty sure you’re already familiar with the benefits of meditation, but nevertheless, “Repetitio est mater studiorum” (Practice makes perfect).
Meditation is a divine tool given to us for the purpose of cleansing our souls and recharging them with positive energy.
The first step is to remember to stay away from limiting beliefs like “Meditation is not that helpful or it takes forever to master it”.
Meditation is helpful. It is a powerful cure for both the body and soul.
Meditation does not take forever to master.
Most people can handle a healing, 5-minute meditation after just several tries…and that’s a great start.
The next step is finding perfect positions that you feel most comfortable with, relaxing, breathing deeply, and indulging in a great meditation session for how long you want.
It is good to start with just a few minutes and then increase the time as you continue doing it.
Stop worrying about things you can’t control
I personally admit that I was guilty of this one due to my overthinking and constant looking for clues indicating that something bad will happen.
Another favorite was dwelling upon a painful moment for months, thinking about how it could’ve been avoided and similar.
For years I was constantly worrying about things I couldn’t control, and once I realized that this was the main source of pain in my soul, I simply told my thoughts to go to hell and kept focusing on things around me that I could control!
You see, you can’t control something that happened in your past, but you can control what’s happening now in this moment.
Remember that you can control only what you’re doing in any given moment, and once that moment is gone, there is no point in blaming yourself for something you’ve said or done.
You cannot control the past nor the future, but you can control the present that will influence your future.
So, live in the moment, and every time you start obsessing about something, ask yourself: “Can I control it?”
If not, just delete it from your head, cut it into pieces, breathe deeply, and occupy yourself with something else more productive.
Break out of the rut
Do you often follow the exact same pattern in your everyday life?
Do you feel like you’re suffocating, and your soul is crying for excitement or something new?
When you get stuck in a routine and constantly follow the same patterns without welcoming occasional ‘refreshes’, your soul more easily gets stuck in negative emotions as well.
Ironically, one of the reasons why we feel so comfortable when we have a routine is because we feel safe.
We think that nothing bad will happen if we continue sticking to our regime.
But, this kind of behavior actually gets us stuck in a rut, and it helps increase the level of negative emotions.
So, the best thing to do ASAP is break out of the rut, do something crazy from time to time, do something spontaneous out of the blue.
You need to get out of the fake, safe environment and create a new one where you will be comfortable with doing different things, dealing with different emotions, and accepting different outcomes.
Diversity creates freedom, and all you need to do is activate it.
Live your life with passion and true purpose
It is really hard to live a life when you have no idea why you’re doing certain things, why you go to work everyday, and similar.
When your life is not driven by passion and true purpose, it is hard to stay away from negative emotions.
Your soul starts suffering, and chronic soul pain becomes inevitable.
That is why it is important to explore the things you love to do, to ask yourself what are the qualities you enjoy expressing the most, and to listen to your heart and its directions.
Once you determine where you want to go, what you want to do, how you want to do it and when you want to do it, you will find your life’s purpose.
Your life will be driven by pure passion and true purpose which is essential for destroying and preventing soul pain from entering your being.
See also: This Is What Loving Yourself Really Means
Take care of yourself before helping others
Many people experience severe soul pain just because they forget to take care of themselves and their sole focus is on helping others.
But, in order to help others, you need to learn to help yourself first.
In order to love others, you need to learn to love yourself first.
I know that to some of you this will sound selfish, but it is essential that you learn to prioritize yourself because you’re the master of your own happiness.
You create your own path, you fight your own battles, you fight for your well-being and true happiness.
And if you’re always anxious and stressed, you will not be able to help others, and you will prolong your pain and their pain as well.
Love yourself for you who you truly are, and you will ooze with happiness.
Only then you will be able to help others, too.
Final Thoughts
If you’re experiencing soul pain, it is important not to get too overwhelmed in thinking that you’re on a dead end street.
Soul pain has been affecting human beings since ancient times, and it is an inevitable part of the human existence.
The need for feeling safe and happy has put us all at risk of experiencing pain due to potential traumatic events.
You know what they say, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”
But, what you can do is cut the soul pain at its roots and exterminate the evil force with the above techniques which are guaranteed to cleanse your soul and make you feel rejuvenated.
So, remember to stay relaxed, live in the moment, and narrow your focus on things you can control in your life.
And one more thing before you go!
Please, find a special section in your brain where you’ll memorize the following lyrics about life by Green Day (Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)): “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life…”
