The process of therapy is often like cleaning out a closet. Cleaning out the "closets" in our lives involves addressing the areas where we have stored experiences, our reactions to those experiences, our memories and our emotions. The items which are there have been put there by us, others, our parents, families of origin, past relationships, etc.
In order to organize our "closet", it involves cleaning and sorting through these experiences. Take a look at what is in there and figure out where it all came from. Ask yourself, "How does it affect me in my present life? What do I do with it now?"
People are often fearful of opening the door of their "closet" because of what skeletons may be lurking there. You can't help what has been placed in your "closet" (meaning you can't control what has happened in your past), but the great benefit of doing the dirty work of cleaning out your "closet", our emotional storage area, is that you now get to choose whether your "closet" controls you or not. The first step is acknowledging that the "closet" exists. The second step is opening the door. Only then can you begin going through the "closet" piece by piece and deciding what you are going to keep and what needs to be discarded. Some things will have to be repurposed. For example, an unhappy childhood can be repurposed into the experiences that teach you how to be the best parent you can be.
We may not have a choice of what has been put in our "closet", but being aware, opening the closet and dealing with it, gives us the power to choose what remains there. Dealing with your past takes away the control that it has on your current life and allows you to live intentionally, purposefully and authentically in the present.
If you are ready to take that step
of opening the door to your "closet",
Perspectives Counseling Centers
has a highly trained, competent staff waiting
to walk along beside you on the journey.
You Need Not Walk Alone
