The Healing Power of Journeying

"It can be as simple as taking a walk and stopping to watch the fall leaves twirl down in the luminescent light of morning, turning your face toward the sun and asking: What is it that my heart most longs for me to know? It can mean answering a creative call-shaping clay into pots, writing poetry, setting time aside for journaling, joining that literary book club, meditation class, or knitting circle."

"Studies show that when individuals who faced adversity in childhood face periods of stress in adulthood, their levels of inflammatory chemicals and hormones rise faster and higher than among those without a history of childhood adversity. Those of us who faced chronic childhood stress have a lower set point at which our stress-response gets flipped on, and stays on. The fancy term for this is stress sensitization: You react to stress more quickly and with more oomph, and it's harder to turn that stress response off"

Journeying—whether inward or outward—creates calm and fosters personal growth. Simple practices such as walking, watching leaves, creative pursuits like pottery or poetry, and joining classes can open awareness and invite questions about the heart’s longings. Travel or reconnecting with friends can answer long-postponed nudges. Childhood adversity raises inflammatory chemicals and hormones more quickly under adult stress, producing a lower threshold for activating and sustaining the stress response, known as stress sensitization. Chronic childhood stress therefore makes hearing the inner voice harder. Stepping away to trace personal roots and using journal prompts, creativity, and quiet reflection can help reconnect with the inner voice and guide next steps.

Read at Psychology Today