Hello! Welcome to Blissfully Healing.

My name is Iman Habel and I am delighted that you have found your way to my little corner of the world wide web. A heartfelt welcome to you.

Where did the journey begin?

I embarked on my trauma recovery journey almost a decade ago. When I started, all I wanted was to make the symptoms I was having go away. The ptsd, deep trenches of depression, agoraphobia, nightmares, daymares, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, emotional overwhelm, extreme sensitivity to stimuli and many other trauma responses.  

What I had learned very lightly during my undergraduate career as a psychology student, was that childhood trauma does not go away. My undergraduate degree did not dive deeply into trauma, what it did though was spark an interest towards the field of trauma psychology.

Up until then, it did not occur to me that I had a traumatic childhood, or that my adolescent period was filled with traumatic events or that my adulthood was also filled with traumatic instances. I simply thought that the life I was living was normal and everyone went through similar challenges.

I have always had a deep desire for wellbeing and there was something deep within that urged me to dive deeper into the world of trauma recovery and more so, dive deeper into self exploration. I knew that something was off about the life I was living and that there must be more, a better way of life, a more stable, peaceful, joyous, gentle and meaningful way of living, and I have found that wellbeing inside the world of trauma recovery.

My journey has been a long, challenging and most definitely rewarding one. I say rewarding because it took me time to realize that the pains I was facing in life were actually building blocks to joys. It took me even longer after that realization to turn those pains into actionable tools that have made me the person that I am today.

What have I gained on my journey?

What started as a small interest quickly developed into a deep passion. I dove deeply into books, lectures, seminars and workshops. I realized that the trauma that I had experienced as a child, an adolescent and as an adult were the limiting factors that were making my life miserable, difficult, and that kept me on a repeated cycle of pain and anguish.

I learned that as much as traumatic events affect the mind, the body keeps a record of even the traumatic events that happened before memories could be created, and that the soul was deeply affected as well.  Over time I developed a spiritual, mindful, and body-aware approach of dealing with my trauma on all three levels.

It took time to get where I am today. First, I had to acknowledge that I needed help, in which I sought a therapist and have been with her for 8 years. Second I went above and beyond to learn as much as I could about trauma and apply the lessons and activities on myself. This journey has been extremely difficult, but I can tell you now that it has been extremely rewarding.

I have learned to love, care, value and respect myself by creating a unified atmosphere within myself, a space in which each traumatized part feels welcomed, loved and unjudged. I have learned to stand up for myself and create boundaries by understanding the fears that lied beneath the need to be liked, approved of and valued by others. I have learned to connect deeply with myself by leaning into fear, anger, sadness, joy, love and all the other emotions that I have feared all my life. I have learned a lot more through my journey, but these are the most noteworthy.

I donโ€™t think that the trauma recovery journey ever ends. As I embark on different levels of life, I face different traumatic parts, memories and triggers. What has changed over the years is how I deal with these triggers. I have learned compassion for myself, gentility towards the parts that are hurting and the awareness that a  trigger is just that, a trigger. A whirlwind might be occurring with a part that is hurt, but the rest of me allows that part to experience what it is experiencing without judging, insulting, questioning, belittling or devaluing. I must say that this has been an extremely perplexing experience. To feel the effects of trauma without being fully pulled away by them, and to allow them to be present with the supportive words of โ€œitโ€™s ok to feel how you are feelingโ€ has truly transformed the way I perceive myself, life around me and the relationships I choose to have.

Trauma is a thing of the past, but it has a very profound effect on the present and the future. The decision to face your trauma will have to be one filled with bravery and commitment for a better quality of life. Itโ€™s a challenging road, but an extremely rewarding one.

Why the support groups?

I recently decided to restart my blog and create support groups, because I realized that there is a need for community when it comes to dealing with trauma. As I look back, I realize that embarking on this journey with like experienced individuals would have probably made the journey less lonely, less scary and perhaps made me realize sooner what a true adventure this journey actually is.

I do not wish to delude you into thinking that I no longer get triggered, or have physical effects from my traumatic experiences. Nope. I most definitely still do. But I have learned to lean in, to listen and to allow.

This is something I look forward to sharing with you in our support groups. We will share our stories, learn grounding techniques, learn to connect to different parts of ourselves, and most importantly learn to lean in, allow and listen to what we experienced, what we are experiencing in the present, and create space for our lives to blossom.

My journey from trauma to joy, suffering to thriving, fear to courage has led to me to the realization that living in pain and anguish is not a pre-requisite or a requirement for a wonderful life.