We’re a week out, and if like I used to, you’re feeling heavy in anticipation of what Easter represents, you’re not alone.
There’s a chapter of my ebook, Melancholy, that you can download here, that follows my journey from grief and the ache of Easter to ease and contentment.
I used to love Easter in church it was a special time and felt like family.
As I started to feel less at home there I also became more sensitive to the violence of Easter and the imagery of death.
My kids remind me that we watched The Passion of the Christ when they were about 8 & 10, what was I thinking?
I would become what I understand now as dysregulated in my nervous system over Easter, it would feel overwhelming and unhealed grief from other life events would surface and take me out for days. I didn’t know why I felt this way, but felt very smug in my reverence for the moment.
Then the joy of resurrection and the power of singing on Easter Sunday would shift the energy but the high would also border on mania. Music and the atmosphere of a highly charged worship service with thousands of people can take you places.
And so the shift away from it all was dislocating and unsettling.
Then a few years ago I realised the heaviness had lifted.
Have a read of Melancholy if you’d like to connect with someone else’s story.
If you’re struggling with the impact of religious trauma or high control religion, reach out. I see clients online Australia wide & in Marrickville in-person.
