Another PT Metaphor

Since I broke my wrist and had surgery to put it back correctly, I have had physical therapy (PT).

I want to bear weight with my right hand. The PT lady explained that that is not a great idea yet. She made a fist and moved it back and forth a little bit and said that there was a world of difference between bearing weight with that tiny range of motion versus, and, she showed a normal range of motion, being able to bear weight with a full range of motion. First, you need that range of motion, and then you can start bearing weight, such as pushing yourself off the floor with your hands.

I can see that is true emotionally as well. First, you get the tools to label emotions and build a support network. Then, with the pieces in place, you can start to excavate the emotional toxic stuff from within. It is not a great idea to plumb the depths without the requisite resources at your disposal. I have always thought that meditation was not a great idea for people with vast quantities of unknown issues that will instantly rise to the surface demanding resolution. That is re-traumatization. Been there, done that. Without the pieces in place for recovery, healing is impossible.

This is why intellect is not necessarily useful for healing. The intellect has to be in support of the emotions, not a substitute for them. Sometimes. people with lower IQs do better emotionally because they have less intellectual interference in their heads justifying the dysfunctional garbage they have been subjected to. The more intellect one has, the greater the cognitive dissonance may be. You know that what you are doing is self-destructive, but still have no emotional self-control to prevent it. It is like watching a one-man train wreck. Once again, been there, done that.