Happy Halloween! 👻🎃
I was playing around with my Snapchat filters and it got me thinking about the different masks, costumes and personas we usually put on for Halloween and for going out ‘guising' (although not so much this year), in order to look like or to be someone or something else.
Life is not always easy and so to cope, many of us protect ourselves by living behind our “public masks” - the ones we put on in order not to be judged as a parent, a friend, a family member or as an employee or leader - so we feel loved and accepted. But who are we without our mask?
Most of us can relate to a time when we expressed an emotion that didn't go down well, so we develop ways in which to hide our true feelings. We may think we are protecting ourselves but we are actually building barriers, reinforcing a belief that we are not good enough and that it is not safe to be ourselves. As a result, we form relationships that are based on fear rather than on love and we do not experience the wonderful emotions that life can bring.
What we don’t take into consideration is the cost to our mental, emotional and physical health of maintaining the “mask" and the energy it takes to keep it in place. It can be exhausting. Showing up as ourselves is a gift and learning to be vulnerable can break the pattern.
Children are amazing at showing their vulnerability! They tell it how it is and are authentic, however with life experiences they can lose this and begin to mask how they are feeling or try to become something else in order to please others. Children pick up on emotions easily, especially from those around them, and they can end up taking on those emotions too. That's a huge task! There are many studies that show children pick up the subtle clues and "emotional residue" from their parents. It can be very confusing for them.
Rather than suppressing emotions, the best way is to let kids see a healthy range so that they learn to regulate them and solve problems, building their resilience for the future. They will be able to see that problems can be resolved and although people can get angry or sad sometimes, there are ways in which we can make the situation better.
Treating children with the Bach Flower Remedies can help to "nip things in the bud" quickly as they have not had the time that we adults have had, to build those walls high or to hide under the many layers of emotions that we have covered over the years.
Regardless, it is possible to find ‘you’ again but it requires a little commitment to explore and let go of the worry of how others perceive you. If you continue to put on your mask, you move away from your true self. Taking it off reveals more of who we are and you start to thrive.
The Flower Essences are a gentle healing system that work on the basis of ‘peeling back the layers’, in your own time. They treat the surface emotion you are experiencing and reveal what lies beneath - whether that be an emotion, fear or inhibition that you are ready to let go of.
The person taking the remedies is on a journey, as we all are, and I offer a safe space of support to gently remove the layers, getting to the root of your truth and helping you to live a more balanced, happier and healthier life.
What is keeping you from being who you are? If you are ready to acknowledge or explore this then get in touch for a complimentary, confidential chat, I would love to help you discover 'you' 💜