Healing Emotional Wounds: Why We Must Treat Them Like Physical Injuries - Denver, Colorado

Erika Baum, LPCC Attachment and Relationship EMDR Trauma Counselor in Denver, Colorado

Emotional wounds are a natural part of life, much like the cuts and scrapes we get on our bodies. Yet, unlike physical injuries, we often don't give our emotional pain the attention it deserves.

Ignoring these wounds comes with serious risks, as they can become "infected" and worsen over time if left untreated.

Ignoring these wounds comes with serious risks, as they can become "infected" and worsen over time if left untreated.

One common way we allow these emotional wounds to fester is through rumination—repeatedly focusing on the negative events in our lives.

Failure, for example, is often seen as something temporary, much like a chest cold that will pass. But if we don’t address the emotional sting of failure, it can deepen into something more serious, like pneumonia for the soul.

Similarly, rejection can feel like a small cut or scrape, whether it’s a friend not liking our social media post, a romantic partner turning us down, missing out on a job we wanted, or even being excluded by coworkers.

These rejections are part of daily life, but if we don’t tend to them, they can compound, leaving us feeling more self-critical and wounded than before.

The good news? Emotional wounds can heal—even the old, deep ones.

The good news? Emotional wounds can heal—even the old, deep ones.

How to heal emotional wounds

The first step is to simply acknowledge that we’re injured. This may sound easy, but often, we have a tendency to brush off or dismiss our emotional pain. But left untreated, emotional wounds can impact us just as much as physical injuries.

This is where therapy and techniques like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) come in.

Attachment therapy at Denver Relationship and Attachment Counseling provides a supportive space to safely explore these emotional injuries, helping you process and understand your feelings. Through EMDR, you can heal old wounds that are still affecting your present-day life, especially if you’ve experienced trauma or painful memories that you just can’t seem to shake.

EMDR helps to reprocess these experiences, freeing you from their emotional grip and allowing you to move forward.

Just as we clean and care for a cut, we can heal emotional wounds with time and attention.

Here’s how to start:

1. Acknowledge your pain—what you're dealing with is valid and real.

2. Identify the wound—what exactly is causing your distress?

3. Take active steps toward healing—whether through therapy, EMDR, or self-care, give yourself the time and care you need to recover emotionally.

Healing is possible, and taking these small steps can help ensure your emotional wounds don’t become deeper scars. Therapy and EMDR can be powerful tools to guide you along the way.

You Can Heal!

Are you wanting to heal from your past relational wounds and move towards secure attachment? Book a consultation here.

Erika Baum, LPCC Attachment and Relationship EMDR Trauma Counselor in Denver, Colorado

Written by:

Erika Baum, M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling, LPCC

Book an appointment HERE.

Denver, Castle Rock, Englewood, Colorado