Healing isn’t a straight line- it’s a mosaic of grit and grace, a storm that reshapes your coastline, leaving treasures in the wreckage. If you’re sitting here today, scrolling through this post with a heart that still aches, a memory that still stings, or a grief that still crashes like waves- breathe. This pain isn’t failure. It’s evidence- proof you’re untangling from the lies that once bound you, nerve by nerve, stitch by stitch.

Yes, it still hurts. The weight of what you’ve lost, or what was stolen still sits heavy some days. The anger still simmers. The “why me?” still echoes. But beneath the surface, your heart is stitching itself with gold. Not to erase the scars, but to make them sacred. Healing isn’t the absence of pain; it’s the courage to tend the wound instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.

Here’s what they don’t tell you about healing; It’s cancelling plans to cry in the bathtub, then laughing at a meme 20 minutes later. It’s deleting the apology from your text draft because “No” is a complete sentence. It’s staring at old photos, equal parts grief and gratitude, and whispering, “We survived.” Society calls this “messy.” Call it holy work.

Narcissistic systems thrive on silencing your pain, gaslighting grief into “drama,” and pathologising your humanity. But your tears aren’t weakness- they’re devotion. Devotion to the self that’s rising from the ashes of their neglect. Every shuddering breath, every night spent relearning safety, every scream swallowed then reclaimed- these aren’t setbacks. They’re revolutions.

Let the world misunderstand. Let them confuse your grit for brokenness. You know the truth: tenderness is your rebellion. The fact that you feel deeply, that you refuse to numb or armour up, that you keep showing up even when it’s hard? That’s your power, not their victory.

You are worth the ache. Worth the therapy appointments, the awkward boundaries, the days you rehearse “I deserve better” in the mirror. Worth the messy, nonlinear, glorious work of becoming.

This is your reminder: Healing isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about building a future where your pain isn’t a prison-it’s a bridge. A bridge to deeper empathy, fiercer self-respect, and a life so vibrant, it terrifies the ghosts of who you once had to be.