Halloween celebrates spooky tales, haunted houses, and those costumes that help us playfully create a new image. I remember dressing up as a child with a plastic witch mask and outfit, yelling ‘boo!’ to those I approached. I am giggling now, but then I felt no one would know it was just a tiny human behind the mask as I rang doorbell after doorbell to fill my bag of treats.
Beyond the costumes and candy, Halloween can also be a powerful metaphor for the emotional “ghosts” we carry—past traumas, unresolved feelings, and lingering negative experiences that haunt our everyday lives.
These emotional ghosts may not be visible like those we see on Halloween night, but they affect how we live, interact, and perceive the world. Maybe it’s the lingering hurt from a past relationship, the self-doubt that stems from an old failure, or the anxiety that rises from childhood experiences. If left unchecked, these ghosts can haunt us year-round, often without us fully realizing their presence.
Over the years, through my education, counseling, and support groups, I’ve learned the first step in confronting these emotional hauntings is recognizing them. Like acknowledging a ghost’s presence in a haunted house (Boo!), we need to recognize our emotional ghosts to begin healing. Ignoring them only allows them to grow more powerful over time. Once we can name and understand these ghosts, we can begin balancing their influence on our lives.
That doesn’t mean we get rid of them entirely. Our pasts are part of us, and the experiences that haunt us also shape us. Learning to coexist with these emotions without letting them control us is the key. This can be achieved through self-care practices such as mindfulness, which helps keep us grounded in the present moment, art therapy or journaling, which can provide safe spaces to unpack these emotions.
We often try to scare away spirits during Halloween, but what if we embraced our emotional ghosts instead? These past experiences, though painful, can be valuable teachers. They can guide us toward resilience and a deeper understanding of ourselves.
Use this Halloween season of spookiness as a time to confront, understand, and balance the weight of your emotional hauntings. In doing so, you may find that the scariest ghosts aren’t the ones outside but the ones inside—and that’s where true healing begins.
Join our team in exploring ways to navigate those scary ghosts: Cindy Gum in Journaling workshops where you can take a deep dive into what may be lurking underneath the surface; Anthony Metten during Breathwork, where you can let go of stored-up emotions through deep breathing; Tiffany Baker to support you through ongoing grief; Catherine Harris to explore creativity, offering comfort and care when experiencing a challenging time.
You don’t have to walk this life journey alone; we are here to support you in the ways that work best for you.
Boo!
Cyndi