Breakdown to Breakthrough
April 4th, 2022
Keep fighting. Keep staying strong. Keep pushing. Keep resisting. Keep trying. Keep being brave. Keep smiling. Keep”…ugggghhhh. I find this messaging exhausting and dated.
While I appreciate the sentiment intended to be encouraging during tough times, I’ve personally never found it useful in my darkest hour. When life has brought me to my knees, you know what I needed to hear more?
It’s ok to break down.
It’s ok to fall apart.
It’s ok to weep.
It’s ok to be angry.
It’s ok to not “keep doing” anything.
It’s ok to take the “everything is fine” mask off.
It’s ok to be a shit storm.
It’s ok to not be strong.
It’s ok to stop fighting.
It’s ok to acknowledge being unhappy.
It’s ok to stop depleting yourself.
It’s ok to say no without explanation.
It’s ok to not have all the answers right now.
It’s ok to rest as much as you need to.
It’s ok to ask for extra support.
The fight mentality can keep us in chronic denial of what we truly need, prolongs suffering, and keeps us at war with ourselves.
Sometimes it’s the letting go of the fight that creates space for solution and healing to come through.
There is a time and place to fight. Absolutely.
But the “keep fighting at all costs” anthem is tone deaf to the grieving, chronically ill, trauma survivors, PTSD sufferers, and the highly sensitive ones.
You are not an energizer bunny. If your body is telling you that you need something other than to “keep fighting” right now, please: Get still, and listen.
