Are we there yet?
Navigating through our mental health struggles is not a quick fix, but a daring and often slow journey encompassing dramatic ebbs and flows.
Here are two tips that I have found helpful on my journey of emotional recovery:
1. Embrace the journey
We desperately long for the destination of a restored and healthy emotional well-being. Yet sometimes we can be like kids sitting in the back seat of a car on a long road trip moaning to God, ‘Are we there yet?’
My encouragement is to embrace the journey. Significant and lasting emotional growth usually takes longer than we expect. Remember: the journey is in the journey.
2. Enjoy the journey
There are times we’re so focused on our destination of emotional recovery, that we forget to enjoy the journey of the here and now.
From personal experience, I can testify that there is something profoundly redemptive and transformative in the journey.
To be honest, I’m still vulnerable to anxiety disorder – I haven’t arrived and I’m ok with that.
“Every step an arrival.”
Denise Levertov, American poet
RELATED ARTICLES
THE COMPARISON TRAP
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”Theodore Roosevelt I know firsthand that comparison is a thief of joy. Comparison leads to unnecessary stress and anxiety. Comparison can lead to superiority: I’m smarter than you I’m better than you...
DO IT AFRAID
To fear is to be human. Fear is first provoked in the amygdala, the primal part of our brain that is hardwired for our protection and survival. Fearful thoughts immediately activate our ‘fight-freeze-flight’ stress response, releasing an...
GOOD NIGHT
How’s your sleep? When was the last time you woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the challenges of a new day? Sleep stoppers Below are some common factors that inhibit quality sleep: Unmanageable stress Poor diet e.g. caffeine, sugar, white...