The Spiral Aspect of Healing
Healing is rarely linear.
It is an intricate, spiral-like journey that weaves through our lives, revealing layers of growth and understanding with each turn.
I was reminded of this when I recently completed an online Family Constellation session.
The topic?
Food, money, and my overwhelming desire to consume more than I need.
This exploration surprised me for two reasons.
First, I thought I had already addressed these issues.
After all, I’ve spent the last ten years healing my relationship with food and my body through intuitive eating.
My eating habits have transformed, and my perception of movement has evolved dramatically.
I’ve gone from someone who resisted working out to someone who genuinely loves it.
Today, movement feels less like an obligation and more like a natural rhythm of my life—a joy I don’t want to miss.
When I do miss a session, my body naturally craves movement.
The shift has been profound.
Second, I wondered why I still carried the weight—literally and figuratively.
My internal dialogue around food and my body has shifted from one of criticism and disgust to one of love and compassion.
I’ve learned to embrace myself and my journey with a sense of deep appreciation.
To me, this transformation is nothing short of miraculous.
So why, after a decade of dedicated work, was I revisiting these patterns through a Family Constellation?
The Layers of Healing
Hadn’t I done enough healing?
Isn’t the purpose of this journey to love myself fully and completely?
These questions lingered in my mind.
But as I’ve come to realize, healing is not a one-and-done process.
It is spiralic, circling back to issues we thought we’d resolved to reveal deeper layers.
This realization has been both humbling and enlightening.
Over the past ten years, I’ve learned to love myself and transform my relationship with food through what I now see as a reparenting process.
I’ve broken patterns of self-criticism, replaced them with self-compassion, and maintained a steady weight—a significant departure from my old pattern of gaining weight each year without losing it.
Yet, curiosity about my tendency to overconsume lingered.
Why did I eat when I wasn’t hungry?
Why did I eat until I felt uncomfortably full?
Why did I often feel that what was on my plate wasn’t enough?
These questions led me to Family Constellations, where I uncovered a deeper truth.
This habit of overconsumption felt foreign, almost as if it didn’t belong to me.
I began to suspect that this pattern might be rooted in something ancestral—a protective mechanism passed down through generations.
The session confirmed my intuition, offering insights into how inherited patterns influence my behaviors and how these patterns can be released.
The Spiral Comes Full Circle
Here is where the spiral nature of healing becomes clear.
Just when we think we’re done, something new emerges, asking us to grow and evolve further.
This used to frustrate me, especially during moments of pain and despair.
But I’ve come to see these moments as invitations—opportunities to become more of who I am.
With each layer I uncover, I realize how interconnected my healing journey is.
The work I’ve done over the years hasn’t been for nothing.
It has prepared me for these deeper layers, giving me the tools and resilience to navigate them.
Each turn of the spiral brings me closer to my essence, peeling away the layers that cloud my body and mind.
And while the process can be challenging, it’s also exhilarating.
Becoming More of Myself
What I’ve come to understand is that healing is about becoming—becoming more aligned, more authentic, and more whole.
Life continually offers invitations to heal, uncovering layers of ourselves that we didn’t even realize needed attention.
It’s a dynamic, ongoing process that asks for curiosity, courage, and compassion.
I’m grateful to have tools like Family Constellations to guide me.
I’m grateful for the support systems that help me embrace this journey.
And most of all, I’m grateful for the spiral itself, for the way it allows me to revisit, refine, and deepen my understanding of myself.
So, if you find yourself revisiting an issue you thought you’d healed, remember that this is part of the process.
Healing is not about reaching a final destination; it’s about embracing the journey and becoming more of who you are.
Each turn of the spiral brings new wisdom, new strength, and new opportunities to step into your fullest self.
Reflection Questions:
Are there patterns in your life that you thought you had resolved but find yourself revisiting?
What tools or support systems have helped you navigate the layers of your healing journey?
How can you approach these revisitations with curiosity and compassion rather than frustration?
Embrace the spiral.
It’s leading you home to yourself.
