Embracing Discomfort: Why Running Towards Pain Fuels Growth
It’s a universal human instinct to avoid pain in its many forms. I’ve noticed that also applies to triggers, those visceral reactions that emotionally blindside us—painful echoes of a moment that delivered harm. In an instant, our brain and body react to protect us as though we’re in imminent danger and signal our fight or flight response. However unpleasant these exaggerated reactions may feel, I’ve come to believe that triggers are God’s way of signaling there is further healing to be done in an area of our lives.
It’s easy to believe the lie that healing is impossible. Our past suffering may feel daunting which can cause us to ignore the truth that triggers reveal and, as a result, forfeit personal healing. In an effort to ignore pain, we may develop damaging behaviors that cause harm to ourselves or our relationships. Yet, our complex bodies are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (see Psalm 139:14), and the physical, emotional, and spiritual parts are interconnected. Dismissing or burying pain impacts our mental and physical health, and the fallout manifests in the form of angry outbursts, depression, anxiety, addiction, and other health issues.
But what if the pain we are running from is a counterintuitive gift pointing to the healing we long for? What if we approach triggers not as something that threatens to harm us but as a blessing in disguise? What if, instead of ignoring the pain, we face it head-on, sit with it for a while, and seek to understand why we felt this emotional rush? What if we take courage and seek to uncover its source through prayer and honest soul-searching?
When we reframe triggers as a tool to help us heal and grow, we can replace fear with an attitude of discovery. While soul-searching, it may help to identify the source of the reaction. For example, I recently overreacted to a perceived slight that felt like a situation I had endured years prior. The trigger helped me to recognize an area of insecurity. This revelation provided me with fresh insight and opened a whole new area of healing and growth in my life. As we prayerfully uncover the reason for our overreaction to a situation that feels similar to past wounding (aka a trigger), we can ask God to heal us.
Psalm 147:3 assures us that, “God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” God loved us so much that He sent His Son to face the pain and shame of the cross and die on our behalf. Jesus’ death wiped out our sin and secured not only our future in heaven, but also life in abundance here and now. That includes freedom from the bondage of our sin or others’ sin inflicted on us. Fueled with the guidance of God’s Spirit and our faith in God’s love and healing power, we can dismantle triggers to uncover their hidden gift of healing.
Some of the hurt we have suffered will take time, prayer, and even the help of a professional to work through, but healing is possible, and in time, the pain won’t feel as pronounced. It consoles us that Jesus was intimately familiar with suffering and understands our pain. With His forgiveness and encouragement, we can “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The healing process may be challenging, but with God’s help and a little practice, we can grow attuned to recognizing triggers as a tool for healing and growth. Instead of numbing, escaping, or burying the resulting pain, we can muster courage, stand firm, and bravely search for its source. Once found, we can bring it to the Lord, trusting Him for the healing he has promised. In the future, we can learn to reject lies that contradict God’s truth and renew our minds in Christ so that our thoughts align with His (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).
May we bring all our pain to the One who made us and is equipped to remake us, and proclaim as the Psalmist: “Lord my God, I called to You for help, and You healed me” (Psalm 30:2).
