You are a warrior who has survived terrible traumas. Now that the trauma is over, you have the opportunity to begin a journey of self-awareness where you will receive tools that will increase your emotional intelligence and enable you to live a freer and fuller life. The journey back into the unprocessed pain will hurt, but remember that you have already survived it, now you are simply freeing it. Once free, your dreams and desires can fill the space. You have the opportunity to recreate yourself and your life in recovery. You are a masterpiece. 

 

In your recovery journey, the brain, body, and being will all speak to you and request release and rejuvenation. They must not be rushed. For some, healing happens quickly, for others it will take longer. Allow yourself the time to recover for as long as you need. It is not wasted time, but deeply enriching time. What you will learn in this internally sacred time can bring greater purpose to your life and the lives of others.

    

Approach the recovery journey as an investment in yourself and your future. Often recovery resources are expensive, so plan and prepare your finances to make room for it. Keep your material life simple, as you focus your finances on personal progress. If financial resources are limited, ask for help. Many practitioners offer services on a sliding scale, many organizations offer scholarships or grants to assist, and many others will allow you to attend events for free or in exchange for volunteer hours. They may not advertise these discounts, so invite them to help you by asking.  

 

There is an abundance of recovery resources: people and modalities committed to those on a healing journey from trauma. Explore them broadly: books, articles, podcasts, movies, music, art, psychological and physical therapies, spirituality, coaching, etc. Everyone's healing journey will be successful using different tools, so find the ones that work for you and commit to them. Remember that the healing journey is not linear, so you may need to revisit parts of your path with different tools to completely clear the pain and pull the wealth out of it. 

 

Recovery is a communal process. Your journey will aid someone else in theirs and vice versa. Invite others into your internal path and allow them to be with you there. Allow them to reflect to you who are you when you might struggle to remember, allow them to hold you and carry you on days when your recovery fatigue is too great to go on, allow them to encourage you to rest when necessary. Being invited into someone's pain is often felt as a great privilege, so gift that to those safe in your life. If you haven't encounter safe companions yet, seek them out by getting involved in or creating organizations.

 

The recovery journey is woven into other life responsibilities: family, friends, work, etc. Focus on the most important priorities of the day first, then make room for healing within it. Some days there may be no room, some days there may be a lot. Find creative ways to make space for recovery in your daily life: a 5 minute reflection before bed, a podcast during a car ride, soothing music during a walk, or a monthly therapist appointment. See how your recovery invites you to expand that space or offer it to other passions and purposes of yours throughout your journey. Invite as much flexibility into your routine as possible to adjust each day. 

 

At times, the recovery journey will be too much. We carry our brains, our bodies, and our beings wherever we go, and so never get a real break from the call of recovery. Say no to it some days. However you can, so no to the processing of pain, the rememberance of memories, and the persistence of plight. Take a bath, go for a walk, lay in bed and do nothing, watch television with your kids, scroll through your phone, and tell the voice in the back of your mind that urges you to do more to be quiet for a little while. Somedays, all you will be able do is what you have to and the space between will be a bit of distraction or nothingness. The brain needs this time too, but may not know, so give it a gentle reminder. 

 

Many times during your recovery journey, you may want or need to tell people about your pain who may or may not be safe. Sometimes this is family, sometimes doctors, or practitioners, or friends. Prepare yourself for these encounters to stay in control of the situation. First, decide how you want to present the information: in writing, over the phone, or in-person, etc. Then use tools like visualization to imagine how the conversation might go and how you will respond in different scenarios. You can write things down if that is helpful. Prepare an exit strategy in advance if you don't feel safe during the conversation.  

 

Recovery is a marathon, not a race. Short-term goals and desires often need to be put on hold for long-term goals to be realized first. Stay focused on the end goal- whatever that is for you: healing, better relationships, peace, passion, etc. Break your healing goals down into manageable steps. Start with the most pressing need and address it. When it is addressed move onto the next. Celebrate each milestone, as the successes of recovery can get you through the difficulties of the next step. In the hardest moments, keep your eyes on the prize. If you can't, reach out for support. A large part of healing is simply believing that you can. Stay focused on this truth. 

 

After years of trauma, the body, brain, and being need to learn to hold goodness. A good place to start is with gratitude. Even when things are most challenging, ask yourself what you are grateful for: nature, a roof over your head, nourishing food, access to the internet. They can be the most basic of things. Teach yourself to hold the good and the difficult will work its way out.