Do Not Hide From Who You Have Become After You Survive

You do not have to hide from the person you have become. Yes, you have been through pain, yes the pain changed you from the person you used to be, yes, you have become someone that is so different from who you used to be that sometimes even you struggle with who you are. But this does not mean you have to apologise for who you are now just because it does not fit in with people’s perspectives of you. And if someone tells you “You’ve changed,” as though it is a bad thing after surviving trauma, then they do not understand what you have been through.

To survive trauma, our brains do everything they can to help us cope. They shut off certain aspects of us and overload some others. They make certain parts of us shine and some parts that shone before dull down completely. This isn’t simply about changing. This is about survival. And the way you survive is yours alone in every way possible, because you are biologically wired to find the best possible way you can do it.

I ask you now, no matter how many new flaws you see, how different you feel you have become how strange and unusual you feel you are at this point in time, please do not fear or hide from who you are now. You are still beautiful, even if you feel broken. These parts of you that are broken deserve to be preserved in lacquered gold because your experiences simply add to your journey. So treasure them. Treasure everything that you have become and what you have left behind.

You are a survivor and that in itself is such a brave and beautiful thing to be in this world.