My Three Pillars of Healing

The function of a pillar is to provide support for a structure above it. The pillar helps to distribute the weight of the heavy load it supports. In the healing, growth, and recovery process, there are similar necessary pillars. My 3 Pillars of Healing are 1) healthy daily routine, 2) ACE (adverse childhood experiences) exploration, and 3) spirituality/community. If one or more of these pillars is missing or impaired, the healing process that it supports is lopsided or incomplete. 

The first Pillar is a healthy daily routine. This is an important pillar as a daily routine keeps front-and-center our goals and direction in which we’re headed. The way we get there is by consistency and repetition - the things we do every day or each week. This Pillar includes things like reading, journaling, listening to wellness-oriented podcasts, writing affirmations, and regularly participating in a group of like-minded people.

The second Pillar is what I call ACE exploration. ACE stands for adverse childhood experiences. In another blog article, I talk about the ACE study where this term was introduced. Every human has had some degree of adversity in their life, whether in childhood or adulthood or both. This Pillar is about becoming aware of how adversity in life is impacting our current-day thinking, feeling, and believing.  It’s asking curious questions, such as “Did I develop these patterns of thinking and feeling or behaving in response to the things that happened to me?” This is often best done with the support of a professional who has experience in this area.

The third Pillar is spirituality/community. Spirituality can be a loaded word in today’s culture, and it need not become labored or complicated. It can be as simple as asking ourselves curious questions, such as, “How can my struggles point the way forward to what really matters to me?” “How can this life challenge serve my awakening?” Developing community is a vitally important part of the healing process. In fact, being with others who are like-minded has been shown to be just as or even more powerful than many of the most popular therapeutic techniques used by professionals in the counseling world.

Think of these Pillars as living entities, much like the trunk of a large oak tree. The more they are nurtured, the more they flourish. Also, these Pillars best support the healing process when working interactively. In other words, each pillar informs the others. They are not meant to operate in isolation.

Stay tuned to the next article in this series for more on my Three Pillars of Healing.

I have personal experience in the journey toward healing from problematic sexual habits, love addiction, and binge drinking. My passion is to share with those struggling with addiction or harmful habits the hope and possibility for freedom.     - Brian