When the Awakening Hurts: Riding the Waves of Spiritual Expansion and Emotional Depth

Have you ever felt like you were finally stepping into your light, connecting to your intuition, healing old wounds, feeling empowered, only to be pulled under by an unexpected wave of depression, anxiety, or inner doubt?

If so, you're not broken. You're awakening.

And it doesn’t always look or feel like bliss.

The Dance Between Light and Shadow

There’s a misconception that a spiritual path should feel good all the time, full of love, peace, and connection. But the truth is that awakening is a shedding. And sometimes that shedding feels like grief.

Many of us are noticing that the dips into what feels like depression or anxiety are happening more frequently, more rapidly, and more intensely. This is part of a very real collective phenomenon... an acceleration of consciousness and nervous system evolution.

The Nervous System is Expanding

What’s really happening is that our nervous systems are stretching.

We’re being asked to hold more frequency, more truth, more love, more depth. But to hold more, we have to clear space.

That often means our systems go into temporary overwhelm, as the old patterns, stories, or emotions rise to the surface to be released.

This stretching doesn’t always feel graceful.

It can feel like:

• Deep exhaustion for no “reason”

• Emotional ups and downs that don’t match external circumstances

• A sense of restlessness or disconnection

• A longing to be somewhere else, someone else, or to feel anything else

But underneath it all, your soul is expanding its capacity.

✨ My Personal Experience

I want to share something real with you because I’ve been moving through this too.

Lately, I’ve noticed that when the emotional dips come, they feel lower than they used to.

Almost like they’re touching something deeper in my system... something more ancient, more raw.

But here’s what’s different now:

They’re easier to move through.

They don’t last as long.

And I recover more quickly.

In the past, those feelings would’ve swallowed me. Now, even when it’s hard, there’s a quiet part of me that knows I’ll make it through.

I’ve built the inner trust. I’ve expanded my capacity.

But I’ll be honest, there have been moments where I felt disconnected from Spirit during these dips.

Where I questioned if I was still “spiritual enough” or “worthy” to be a channel, a guide, a healer.

And I’ve realized…That is the lie.

The truth is: this! the rawness, the humanness, the up-and-down rhythm, IS spirituality.

Not just the blissful meditations and light codes… but the crying in the shower, the aching in your chest, the quiet stillness where nothing makes sense.

It’s all part of it.

This Is What Healing Looks Like

We live in a culture that pathologizes discomfort, but discomfort on the awakening path is not a sign you're doing it wrong. It’s often a sign that your soul is metabolizing something ancient. Something collective. Something real.

These dips, these dark nights, are not setbacks. They're spirals inward.

They're invitations to revisit a deeper layer of your healing, now that you’re strong enough to face it.

And the beautiful truth? This stretching is what creates the capacity to feel more joy. More safety. More connection. Like a pendulum swinging... the deeper you go into your shadow, the higher you can rise into your light.

What You Can Do When You’re In It

If you're in one of those dips right now, here are a few gentle reminders:

• Don’t make it mean something’s wrong. Sometimes sadness is just release.

• Let your nervous system lead. Rest, water, breath, and simple grounding help more than pushing through.

• Talk to your body. Ask what it's trying to release. It often has wisdom.

• Trust the spiral. You’re not backtracking, you’re spiraling upward, revisiting a theme with more consciousness than before.

Final Words

This path isn’t linear. But it is sacred.

And every time you choose to stay with yourself in the messiness, in the ache, in the quiet moments when nothing makes sense, you’re anchoring light. You’re embodying truth.

You’re helping the collective heal.

You’re not alone in this.

And you’re not falling apart.

You’re becoming whole.

✨ If you're feeling this too, I created a piece of light language artwork to support your release and activation. Let it speak to your body in ways the mind doesn't need to understand. It's encoded with love, truth, and remembrance. ✨