Breaking That Chain of Broken Hearts

This set consists of a 4" by 5.5" velveteen drawstring bag with 20 1.25" by 1.25" plastic heart links. Also has an instruction card. Recommended for use as an object lesson for clients dealing with multiple traumas. Begin by making a chain of the hearts, using one heart to represent each painful life event. Point out that, when we've been hurt a lot, we often think of the hurts as one big chain of events. It's hard to feel one without feeling them all. But they're not as connected as they feel. Go through the chain link by link--pain by pain--and explore with the person what separates each pain from the one that precedes it (i.e. The sexual abuse was a choice my father made. The car wreck was because the driver was texting, not because my father molested me, etc.). As the hearts are unlinked, arrange them so they remain separate from one another. Emphasize that none of us can bear a lifetime of pain all at once. It's unfair to expect ourselves to carry the pain of today while dragging up false connections to the pains of the past. No one is doomed or jinxed to a lifetime of tragedy.