Your defects are the ways that glory gets manifested.Whoever sees clearly what is diseased in himselfbegins to gallop on the way. There is nothing worsethan thinking you are well enough. ~Rumi
5 Signs You Are a Wounded Healer:
- Your “part-time” job of helping people has taken over your life. I will never forget the day I posted that I would help people with illness issues because I was very good at getting to the root cause. I received so many personal messages that night that I couldn’t believe it. I almost made myself ill from trying to help so many at one time, so I had to take a break from it because it became a 24/7 thing…and I was doing it for free at the time. I realized that I wanted to help people, but that I had to get more specific and I had to turn it into a business so that I wasn’t being used. I also had to learn how to set boundaries because some of these people were downright rude…and I knew them.
- When you are criticized by those you help, it hurts. Sometimes, you can’t help all the people. Especially if they don’t help themselves. Like not even a little bit. I remember the first time a girl messaged me and told me my advice didn’t work. I knew her, yes. Her words were angry and I felt the lie there, so I dug a bit deeper. Had she done the nutrition piece to the plan I sent her (for free, again, btw). No, she had not. Had she taken the supplements at the exact times and used them as I noted. No. She had not. Had she upped her water intake? Nope. Not even a little. And was she taking her prescribed medicine on time? Nope. It was erratic. But she was mad at me. Well, I’ll be damned. That was the day I decided to stop helping people who didn’t want to be helped.
- You might always be working on yourself in order to walk your talk. I remember the first day I realized I had made it through 200 hours of Vinyasa Yoga Teacher training. It was an amazing feeling, but I knew that I needed to learn more, so I continued by signing up for yoga for arthritis and pain. I also completed sports nutrition certification, and many other advanced classes just for my own personal growth. I knew that the times I had gone through really helped me build up my desire to help others, so the areas that I struggled the most with, were the ones I took classes in so that I could help others. I created an online platform based off my knowledge.
- You know that things take time, work, and dedication. Growth, change, and becoming a better human being are not things that can happen overnight. There are set-backs, liars, users of your gifts, and people who will try to stop you at every turn. The bottom line is this, what is your why? Your why can’t be taken or used by them no matter how hard they try. They just don’t have your gift of healing and they might fake it, but they really can’t offer what you can to the world. Keep going. You are on the right path.
- You feel better knowing that you helped just one person. There are many factors in helping others. They are going to get out of it what they put in it, and sometimes, they are going to want that change so much that they follow all of your advice and they will come back to you and recognize the help you have given them. That is also something that makes you feel shy and bashful at the same time, but nevertheless, you appreciate the work that has been recognized. Take the compliment. That is your calling. Be grateful that you can do the things you do and that through your painful experiences, you have helped even one person.
I appreciate each and every one of you who have crossed my path. If you are interested in working on a few of your wounds using a guide, feel free to read more about Healing the Wounded Soul Journaling Workbook.
Other resources you might like to read:
- How I used my Empath Abilities to Heal
- Boundary Setting and the Empath
- How creating Self-Compassion Opens the Door to Healing
