Healing Is Not A Straight Line

You thought you were over it. Whatever 'it' is—the breakup, the burnout, the old version of you that kept making mistakes. You had a good week, maybe even a good month, and then suddenly you woke up today and felt like you were back at square one. The old heavy feeling is back, and you are spiraling, thinking you haven't made any progress at all. Let me stop you right there. This is not a relapse. This is just how healing works. It’s a spiral, not a staircase.

Think about it like this: you are passing the same point of pain, but you are looking at it from a higher level. You have more tools now. You have more self-awareness. You know that you survived it once, which means you can survive it again. The fact that you are even upset about feeling this way is proof that you’ve changed. The old you would have just accepted the misery. The new you knows you deserve better, and that friction is where the hope lives. You are fighting for your own peace.

Hope in the middle of a setback is the ability to be kind to yourself when you fail. If you had a bad day and stayed in bed, that is okay. If you sent a text you shouldn't have, forgive yourself. The world is hard enough without you being your own worst critic. You are a work in progress, and masterpieces take time. You cannot rush the seasons of your soul. Just like the trees in winter, you might look dormant, but you are actually preparing for a new spring.

Stop checking the clock on your recovery. There is no deadline for when you should be 'fine.' Everyone’s timeline is different, and trying to match someone else’s speed is just going to make you trip. Focus on the next ten minutes. What do you need right now? A glass of water? A walk? To scream into a pillow? Give yourself whatever that small thing is. You are allowed to be messy while you are mending.

You are becoming someone new, and the 'old you' is putting up a fight. That’s normal. Don’t mistake the struggle for defeat. You are stronger than you were six months ago, even if you don't feel it right now. Take a deep breath and acknowledge how far you have actually come. You are still here. You are still trying. And that, in itself, is a massive win. Keep going.