Resigning Experiences Is Essential To Transformation

We’ve all felt the desire to replace unpleasant experiences with ones that are a little more pleasurable. Unfortunately, we talk about something that, sometimes, we cannot bring to reality through behavior, but it is in our hands to reframe the experiences.

Psychology has taught us how to do this through its cognitive, humanistic and integral approach. Furthermore, psychoanalysis has also shown us paths for transformation.

Throughout this article, we will show what it means to give new meaning to experiences, what were the contributions of psychology in this sense, paying special attention to the psychoanalytic current. In addition, we’ll explain why this is a transformative issue, how to reframe and what its benefits are.

What does it mean to reframe experiences?

When we talk about giving new meaning to experiences, we are referring to giving them another meaning. This is for us to see what happened from another perspective. A reality that is less distressing and exhausting.

For example, if we experienced something that caused us a lot of suffering and pain, we can transform it thinking that it served us as a great learning experience. So when we see it that way, the suffering decreases. This will help us to have the courage to move forward.

Each of our experiences is associated with an emotion, and the meaning we give to the experience will be associated with that emotion. So, giving it another meaning will make us focus on another feeling; for example, we can go from sadness to joy.

Contributions from various disciplines

Psychology has, among other goals, to study our behaviors, thoughts and emotions. From its various approaches, it generated contributions in terms of resignification of experiences. Let’s see:

• Cognitive Psychology: In therapy there is a theory called cognitive restructuring, whereby the patient, with the initial help of a therapist, identifies those aspects of their life that are maladaptive. Once this is done, they will be replaced with more appropriate ones. In this way, as suggested by Bados López and García Grau in their article “The technique of cognitive restructuring”, the emotional charge is reduced.
• Humanistic Psychology: has several areas that focus on the potential of the human being. One of them is logotherapy, whose basic principle is to give meaning to life. In other words, we are all capable of finding a meaning that will help us to overcome adversity.

• Psychoanalysis: helps to give new meaning to life. It reaches the deepest part of our being, helps us to perceive the unconscious aspects, resistances and defense mechanisms that we have. It is a form of transformation, as we will see everything from another perspective.
• Integral psychology: offers a way to reframe experiences. From the expansion of consciousness, spirituality and a comprehensive approach, it takes us to discover what is beyond us.

Ask for help

Each of these areas approaches the depths of being to reframe experiences. In other words, they all start from self-knowledge, because being connected with ourselves and getting to know ourselves better, we will be able to find the path to transformation.

Now, we do n’t always achieve this change alone. There are situations that are beyond our control because they are too traumatic or because they produce a joy that dominates us. At this point, it’s important to ask for help.

How to reframe experiences?

These are some different proposals:

• Know yourself.
• Value yourself.
• Think about what is being toxic to you and how you can change that aspect.
• Set limits.
• Make a priority list to see what emotion and experience paralyzes you.
• Learn to manage your emotions.
• Give yourself time.
• Ask for help.

Although exposure is simple, it is not an easy path. Furthermore, much of its complexity will come from a challenge: walking along paths never taken before. That way, we will get lost and meet again and again.

The benefits of reframing experiences

The reinterpretation of experiences brings us great advantages. Let’s look at some of them:

• It releases tensions.
• Deepens self-knowledge.
• It increases our self-esteem.
• Promotes greater emotional balance.
• Favors greater assertiveness in interacting with others.
• It helps to take care of ourselves.
• Develops resilience.

The reinterpretation of experiences is essential for transformation. You can choose to be the one who undergoes a metamorphosis or the one who remains in complaint, in resignation, without spreading his wings to fly.