Why Healing Isn’t Linear (And Why That’s Normal)

Shadow of a person making a peace sign against a light-colored wall
Kim Schmidt via Dupe

Healing doesn’t usually look like constant forward momentum.

It looks like progress and then backsliding. Clarity and then confusion. Good weeks that are interrupted by hard days that make you feel like you’re back at square one. That doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human.

Expecting healing to move in a straight line sets people up to feel like they’re failing when their old feelings come back. But coming back doesn’t mean you never made progress. It just means there’s more work to do in that area.

Affiliate DisclaimerYou haven’t lost your progress just because it got hard again.

Healing doesn’t mean you don’t ever feel bad. It means you recover more quickly, have a better understanding of yourself, and are kinder to yourself when things do come up.

Enduring growth usually looks messy while it’s happening.

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