To be a full and flourishing human being, we need to be challenged and to discover our own strength through overcoming those challenges.

At times, we may be under-challenged through external neglect or internal avoidance. At others, we may be overwhelmed by challenges through abuse or other trauma.

When we are not challenged at a level that matches our needs and capacities, our sense of aliveness can begin to shrink.

As a result, we may retreat from engaging with life in ways that would otherwise help us feel capable and connected with the world.

My interpretation of words from Peter Levine, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, Chapter 4

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Much of my adult life, I have avoided “putting myself out there,” believing that by doing so, I was keeping myself safe. But I didn’t fully realize how much I was limiting myself.

By hiding from life, I wasn‘t only protecting myself from what I feared. I was also hobbling my own potential, denying myself opportunities to grow and discover what I was capable of.

But only through therapy, have I begun to feel brave enough to step toward life instead of continually retreating from it. Therapy has been providing me the quiet and safety to calm down and begin rebuilding trust in my inner resources and my agency in my own life.