Healing is NOT Linear
The path to healing from trauma is not a straight line from point A (Wounded) to Point B (Healed). If you expect a predictable upward trajectory, you will be constantly disappointed.
The truth is that healing is cyclical; it is a spiral. You will circle back to old feelings, old pain, and old triggers. But with each cycle, you are not simply repeating the past—you are revisiting familiar territory from a higher vantage point. This is how you know you are making progress: the setback lasts less time, the reaction is less intense, and the recovery is faster.
The Reality of the Cycle
In the beginning you won't recognize yourself. One day you are on top of the world; the next, you feel defeated, numb, stuck, and bored. Let it be. This range of emotions is your body actively processing both past and present thoughts and feelings.
You are not your emotions. You are the awareness that observes them.
Your emotions are valid. Embrace them as an invitation to get to know yourself better.
Old Layers will shed. You will realize the past no longer bothers you as much, and your inner child is free and playful again.
Managing the Descent: What to Do in a Setback
A setback is a moment of necessary integration, not a failure. It is wisdom you’ve learned coming up to meet a new challenge.
1. Identify, Listen, Release
Learn your triggers: Understand the specific internal or external stimuli that send your nervous system into defense mode.
Listen to the discomfort: Your emotional reaction is information about an unmet need or an old wound being activated.
Embrace the discomfort, then release it: Acknowledge the feeling without judgment, and remind yourself: “This too shall pass.”
2. Practice Positive Action
When you are ready—and it may take hours, weeks, or months—take a positive action towards supporting and uplifting yourself. It doesn't have to be major. Every small or big step you take towards caring and loving yourself matters.
Self-Care is Non-Negotiable: Uphold your boundaries and commit to practices that ground you.
Set the Boundary: You no longer feel guilty or ashamed about who or what you allow into your life. Your mind becomes quieter when you protect your peace.
The Unstoppable You
There is no deadline to healing. Your time is the right time. The waiting, the processing, and the journey are all worth it because they are what prepare you for the next level of life.
Your healing journey proves just how capable and resilient you are. It is within those moments of almost giving up that the deepest transformation occurs.
This cyclical process of endless growth, learning, and shedding of knowledge and perspectives is what allows you to become the dream person you have been asking for—the one who exemplifies strength, resilience, love, and patience.
Healing is not linear, but it is constant growth. You are meant to be unstoppable as you learn to dance through life playfully and creatively.
