Stages

I don’t have much to say today. I am about to start out on a long road trip to take my son to the orthodontist for his first consultation. My son is NOT happy about this. It reminds me of stages.

We all go through stages in life. When we have a break in our mental illness, our progression through these stages is halted. It isn’t until we reach recovery that we continue through the stages.

It is the same emotionally when you suffer a great trauma of some kind. You are arrested at that stage for a while until you process the event completely. In the event of abuse as a child, that arrest stage can last for years emotionally. That is why it is so important to get help. Life is for living, for going through the stages.

There are studies on important psychological stages at which all people go through. If the needs are not met at that stage, then the people become arrested. Some become untrusting or bitter.

You have probably read the poem “Children Learn What They Live” by Dorothy Law Nolte, it is very true. Children need to see positive things in their lives so they can feel positive about the world. It is all about stages. You can read the poem at http://www.empowermentresources.com/info2/childrenlearn-long_version.html

So as my son starts this new stage of his life, I will give him reassurance. He doesn’t want braces, but I also know how cruel people can be later in life. I know how those gaps and crooked teeth will bother him as an adult. So I am making this decision for him. I can see further than he can.

We have to depend on others sometimes who are in further stages of life to guide us. They can see further than we can. We can get help if we have been arrested in an earlier stage of developement. Recovery is possible.

Life is worth living in every day. It is worth greeting at this stage.