Survival and Recovery

Survival and Recovery

You may have known silence and betrayal, but you are still here. You can break through the shame and nightmares. It is important to believe in the possibility of your change and remain motivated and committed to your healing.

There is healing in breath
There is healing in safe community.
There is healing in owning and telling your story in your time, at your pace, to those you trust to bear witness
There is restoration in taking time to let your muscles relax.
You have worked so hard, being on guard all day and all night.
And for so long you had to in order to survive.
But will you risk in this moment releasing muscle, tension, vigilance, distrust?
Will you in this moment imagine a place of peace?
Visualize a place where you are supported and know that you are not alone.

You may need an extreme self make-over because extreme stress, violence, and devastation, require renovation from the inside out.
You have had enough empty smiles, dead laughter, fake friendships.
There is recovery in your authenticity – your decision to be real with yourself and with others. You can come off of the stage, take off the mask and breathe. You can discover the person that lives and grows in spite of the symptoms, the self blame, and the should be’s.
Begin to remember what you have always known:
This valley has had an impact but it is not the sum total of who you are
There is more to you than scars, bruises, flashbacks, secrets, and over-stuffed baggage.
There is more to you than sleep issues and food issues and trust issues.
There is more to you than midnight and medication.
It’s time to give birth to your good morning song.

Begin by grounding yourself in the present.
Yesterday is gone.
The past is behind you.
Look around you and see this new day – one you have never seen before.
Embrace the possibilities of a new moment – a season to seek safety, sanity, wholeness, happiness, & well-being.

It is time to replace self harm with self affirmation. Move away from reliance on any form of coping that puts your mind, heart, body, spirit in jeopardy. In this season embrace self care. Care enough for yourself to let your body rest, to be mindful of what you put into your body, of reaching out to physical and mental health professionals who care about your well-being. In this moment consider the ways you have isolated yourself
Commit to breaking out and reaching out. There is strength in community, in sharing, in connecting across the abyss of fear.

True healing and recovery is not based on avoiding the past but facing it, working through it, and coming out on the other side whole. You will not be the person you were before, but you can emerge new. There is wisdom within you, courage within you, survival and thriving wings within you.

Do not surrender.
All is not lost.
You still have you.
Reach for recovery and revival.
Dare to find your laugh, your dance, your song, and your story.
You are a living, breathing testimony.
Your presence is a blessing.
There is purpose and meaning for your life.
The caterpillar days are over, time to make a shift out of the cocoon and show your radiant wings!