Band-aids are miraculous medicine for a 5 year old.  

The story goes something like this:  

When I get a scrape I hurt, I’m vulnerable, and I’m broken.

A band-aid makes me safe.  When someone puts it on me I feel loved.  The band-aid makes it possible for me to heal.  

I am no longer broken when I have my band-aid on.

As adults we know that a key function of a band-aid is keeping a cut clean, and that cleaning the cut first is the most important piece.  Yet, cleaning the cut usually hurts and is scary.

The promise of a band-aid creates the tension necessary to clean a 5-year old’s cut:  The patience and bravery needed to undergo the procedure arises more easily through the promise of a band-aid.  The band-aid is the cape supporting a superhero’s journey.

Conversely, if we offer the band-aid without cleaning the cut we may do more harm than good.  

Band-aids are highly effective solutions to navigate our journeys through pain and fear because they’re part of a larger emotional story.  They offer a ritual of comfort because while there may be little we can do in the face of a scraped knee, at least there’s this, and it matters.

What do you do when you get injured, physically or otherwise?  What stories and rituals support you in your growth and healing?  

Somatic movement therapy, coaching, and bodywork are powerful methods for healing physical and emotional trauma.  If you’re ready to examine your stories about what’s possible in your healing we can write new ones and take action together.  Take 33% off of SomaWorks Somatic Assessments booked before the end of August and taking place before the end of September using the coupon code ‘AUGUST’.  Available physically in Boise or virtually online.