Have you ever had a friend that said “You have no idea what I’m going through” and on hearing their story you think “Wow, I have no idea how you’re still standing” that’s a lot.

Do you have the friend that rushes on when they speak but don’t, daren’t, won’t visit the emotion.  You can see it behind their eyes but they either don’t have the time, daren’t take the time or just don’t know how to deal with it.

So they keep going.  Very high energy, very difficult to get close to, will not be helped.

They bat you away “Oh I’m fine” or “If you think that’s bad just hear this.”

Yes, I know many.  I was one.  Fast, witty, defensive, capable, dependable.  High functioning.  We don’t want to bother you.  It’s too big!

You know who you are.  One of life’s warriors.  The ones that keep going despite the pain which can at times be overwhelming.  We do all we can to distract ourselves, calling up more and more energy to push down those emotions to wait for a more convenient time.

The truth.  We’re so terrified that if we open up to the feeling we may never be able to dig our way out.  In short, it’s overwhelming.

Run, run, run, we just haven’t the time.

More and more, life piles stuff on.

Gradually over time, it becomes exhausting keeping up the façade.  It stops being funny anymore.  I mean who can cover all the bases day in day out, all day every day without taking a break, to reflect and process our experiences.

It can be difficult to change.  We have huge expectations of ourselves.  We take great pride in being able to cope.

A lot of this is about energy.  We just don’t have the energy anymore and our body begins to shut down forcing us into rest and repair.

These are the signs of trauma.  Stress is one thing, but continuous, stress and pressure creates trauma which leads to burnout.  Why?

Because it takes energy to repress our emotions.  What terrifies us is the fear that if we don’t keep a lid on them they’ll push their way up at the worst possible time and we explode.

The explosion, like all explosions is of energy.

Far from looking after ourselves we punish our bodies, making more and more demands of ourselves.  We just don’t have the time to deal with them – our vulnerabilities those little aches and pains.

If only we could learn to process and manage our emotions more efficiently think of all the energy we could free up to spend on other, more enjoyable and life affirming activities.

Now wouldn’t that be great?

Well newsflash – you can.