Desires of the Heart

Trauma can take many forms and can occur at any stage of life.  For children the impact is even greater and even what would seem to be a minor event could have deep effects.  Even experiences in childhood that may be beyond conscious recall, could have a serious impact and manifest in many forms of addiction or abuse.  Dr. Laaser discusses the seven desires of the heart: emotional - to be heard and known, to be affirmed, to be praised, physical - to be safe, to be touched, sexual - to be passionately desired, and spiritual - to be included (Laaser, 2007).  The lack of fulfillment in any of these areas could lead to the effects of trauma in a child.

            Particularly important of these seven desires are the need to be touched and the need to be passionately desired.  When a child is not touched, it can lead to a failure of the child to thrive.  Also, when the child is touched inappropriately, it can lead to a false sense of what a proper touch is.  When a person is not touched, or touched inappropriately, it creates a need in the person’s life for intimacy that is not fulfilled.  This can lead to many forms of sexual sins and acting out including one-night stands (Laaser, 2007).  Each person has a sexual need to be desired by only one person in their life.  When a child senses they may not be desired, this manifests itself later in life through sexual affairs, risky sexual behavior, and other sexual sins (Laaser, 2007).  The person is searching for the one person who can fill this need without turning to the one true fulfillment of all of our needs – Jesus Christ.

Take control of your life and break the chains of addiction.  Contact Coastal Wellness Counseling now for a free consultation and discover how you can live a life of freedom!  Addiction is progressive - so is recovery!!

References

Laaser, M. (2007). The Seven Desires of the Heart [Video file].