Friday, August 27, 2021

 Not sure if this qualifies as healing but...

I've noticed this past year that I'm much more comfortable in my own skin. I had an occasion not too long ago to have to tell my story once again. It had been a while and I approached it with no real nervousness. I made my introduction to the Zoom attendees and began with the account of my abuse in a vague general way. I'm not sure why I was reluctant to admit certain detail but I found myself skirting details. That's when I realized I was feeling the shame all over again when I'd convinced myself it was gone. That not only shocked me but made me a little angry with myself. At that point, I stopped and told them I need to be honest here and really opened up with at least the PG version as I call it. 

I became emotional as I waded into it and I just let the tears flow. I didn't care. It happened, it was bad, I didn't handle it well and it messed me up badly. That said, I'm ok now and I'm working on being better, at a lot of things. 

Life happens, but it's not all bad. I've worked hard to address and repair as much as was within me what was broken and I've had a lot of help from some really great people. I thank God for that often. I thank God for this site and I know I should be here more. It helps. 

I realize I couldn't do this alone. God knows for a while I did try. It was awful. But the support I've had has pushed me to keep reaching for this elusive thing called wellness. People tell me I've come a long way. I'm just glad it shows. I'm too close to the trees sometimes to tell if the forest is still there. 

Thanks for reading this.

R

3 comments:

Zale Dowlen said...

That's fantastic!

Growing up, everything had to be perfect. I learned that if I couldn't do something perfectly, I better not try, because I simply did not want to live through the inevitable criticism.

Now, I know it's ok to "take a swing", even though, it's not going to be perfect. Good job "taking a swing" at your testimony! That's awesome!

Roger Mann said...

Failure and disappointment still hurts but it's not the end of the world feeling now. That's a wonderful freeing feeling. Thanks for the comment.

DJH said...

I love the story and I'm proud of you for all the work it takes to just get through...

You are becoming a force to be reckoned with!