Why a wound should be precious?

A wound, whether visible on the body or hidden in the soul, is often perceived as something painful, terrible, to be hidden or ashamed of. So, what could make it precious?

In life, there are joyful events and others that cause us great pain. It is easy to discuss the happy moments, but often we avoid dealing with the painful ones because the mere thought can unleash a wave of emotions, negative thoughts and intense physical sensations, leaving us uncertain about how to handle them. To defend ourselves from that sense of deep vulnerability, in which we perceive that we are not in control (and how much we hate feeling that way!!!), we might choose to repress our feelings, in the hope that with time the pain will diminish. But often this is not the case. We continue to feel depressed or constantly anxious, and perhaps we have an unhealthy lifestyle that is difficult for us to change. We cannot explain to ourselves or others the vortex of emotions that paralyzes us and prevents us from moving forward, fueling a sense of helplessness that makes us believe that nothing will ever change.

I like to compare my work as a psychologist to Kintsugi. In Japan, the art of Kintsugi is the art of repairing ('tsugi') the cracks in a broken object, often using gold ('kin'), to give it a new life and increased value. The storage box you see on the left  was given to me many years ago. I don't remember who gave it to me, but it has always been one of my favorites. When it broke in a clumsy accident, I never thought of throwing it away. So, I glued it back together. It's true, it's no longer perfect, but to me it has acquired even more value.

For me, starting a psychological support program means accompanying the individual on a journey of self-discovery, which involves recognizing and accepting one's own suffering or wounds, giving pain the space it deserves. It means valuing the trauma that, although painful, may have taught us valuable lessons for living the present better and making future choices that are more aligned with our values. In this sense, our wounds become precious because they can help us build a new sense of self. Every wound will leave us with a scar, which will remind us of what we have overcome and how we survived.