After seeing a quote on bitterness this week, I took a deep plunge into the recesses of my mind. That moment of dissociation in front of my banker as I pondered the quote led to further inquiry (tee hee). I wondered how serious bitterness is emotionally and energetically. One surprise I discovered in my research is that German professor and psychiatrist Michael Linden certainly believed bitterness was a condition. He was the first to propose bitterness should be its own psychological disorder, referring to it as “post-traumatic embitterment disorder” (PTED).
In psychology, the emotional reaction and mood of bitterness is referred to as ‘embitterment’ and described as an emotional state of feeling let down, unable to do anything to change what happened, or always feeling like a ‘loser’. Embitterment is a persistent negative feeling in reaction to common negative life events, and is a reactive emotion towards injustice, insult, or breach of trust. Embitterment is a gnawing feeling with a tendency to linger for a lengthy period.
Connecting bitterness to PTSD turned on the lights! My own informal studies with clients tell me that those with post-traumatic stress are more susceptible to abstract fears. Anyone who acts in a way that dismisses their fears can elicit a bitter response, as if their opinion doesn’t matter. Embitterment might not cause the high alert from fears, rather the deep-seated anger of injustice. Injustice is often better left in the domain of divine providence, or in the whispers from spirit on bitterness.
Bitterness establishes a lasting tone in the heart and often involves a blind spot or something that is challenging to face. Feeling helpless to change what is outside one’s control can perpetuate the conflict in the soul mind. The formation of an energy that holds emotions which support bitterness draws forth remembrance of lost dreams, heartache, trauma, harsh experiences, and anger from the residue of life experiences. Regrets operate in unison with grief to create the attitudes, judgments, and opinions as an expression of the past experiences. The life you didn’t live, the love you never found, the opportunities that never materialized, and the painful failures that brought an enduring shame reside in the energy of bitter emotions.
In bitterness, the mind no longer belongs to the individual. Instead, the thoughts are owned by anger and frustration created by the perceived injustice of the past. It takes great courage for a bitter shield around the heart to find and express the greater peace inherent in the soul. The search for freedom from bitterness includes dismantling the ego heart and mind to accept things as they are without the unnecessary suffering imposed by embitterment. Understanding that bitterness stands between you and the happiness that brings peace leads to an awareness of certain truths.
Unresolved conflict is a place of isolation and confinement, where there is no room for growth or positive movement. A bitter mind comes from a closed heart that cannot see the light of gratitude which is living within. Out of the experience that caused pain will come a strength beyond the perception of common understanding, Surrender your vanity to a force greater than any injustice, which is the love that transcends all other priorities. The aim of the soul is to find the light within the darkness that illuminates the path of the enlightened soul.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“Only courageous hearts can endure the bitterness of truth.”
Michael Bassey Johnson
