Running Away from The Past

We all have parts of our past we wish we could outrun, mistakes we’ve made, things we’ve lost, pain we didn’t ask for. Sometimes, it feels easier to keep moving forward without looking back, to stay busy, distracted, and focused on ‘the next thing’ But when we spend our lives running, what happens to the parts of us left behind? Perhaps we believe that if we just get far enough—emotionally, physically, even geographically—we can finally be free of our past. We move to new cities, change careers, cut ties, or bury ourselves in productivity. And for a while, it works. We feel lighter.  Like we’ve shed the weight we were carrying.

But time and distance don’t always heal on their own. The unresolved wounds have a way of resurfacing—through anxiety, burnout, difficult relationships, or unexplained sadness. We start to realise we haven’t really escaped the past. We might be ‘done with the past but the past isn’t done with us’.

Why We Run?

Running is often a survival instinct. It’s a response to fear, shame, or pain. Sometimes we run because revisiting the past feels too overwhelming. Or because we are unable sit with discomfort, how to make sense of what happened, or how to forgive ourselves or others. We also live in a culture that praises quick recovery and ‘moving on’ or ‘fixing it’. But healing isn’t about pretending nothing happened or about moving on. It’s about moving through.

How To Heal?

So what would happen if we stopped running? If we turned around and gently faced what we’ve been trying to avoid? That doesn’t mean reliving every painful moment. It means recognising that our past shaped us, and that healing comes not from erasing it, but from understanding it. From giving ourselves permission to feel grief, regret, love, or anger. From making peace with the parts that still ache. It has a potential to build your resilience and help you to grow instead of being stuck. It means letting go of the need to run away from yourself, and trusting that you can look back without falling apart. You don’t have to keep running. You can begin again.

#healingjourney #mentalhealthmatters #selfcompassion #letgoofthepast #emotionalgrowth