From a Sufi perspective, self-discovery, healing, and even bodily illness are not separate domains. They are threads of the same journey back to Truth (al-Ḥaqq).
✨ Self-discovery is not “finding a better identity”
It is peeling away what trauma taught you to become.
The self is seen in layers:
Nafs al-Ammārah (commanding ego)
– survival, fear, desire, control
– hypervigilance, anxiety, attachment wounds
Nafs al-Lawwāmah (self-aware self)
– guilt, self-reflection, inner conflict
– psychosomatic tension, fatigue, inflammation
Nafs al-Muṭmaʾinnah (tranquil self)
– surrender, trust (tawakkul), safety
nervous system regulation, healing capacity