Trying to Heal While Still Functioning

This is what healing looks like when you don't get a pause button.

As someone with a busy life, going through something and processing it at the same time is hard because, clearly, I have other things to do. It's hard because, as much as I want a break, life moves on. I cannot take a break from my responsibilities. I need to show up to work and school and pretend that everything is okay. This part sucks because I just get these sudden waves of sadness in places I don't want them, but I can't stop them. The funniest part is that my initial response to "how are you?" is "I am good," even though I really am not.

Healing takes time and requires patience, even when you're quietly wondering why it isn't happening faster. Let yourself move at your own pace. Give yourself room to heal and to actually feel what you're feeling, instead of pushing it down. Avoiding emotions doesn't make them disappear; it just makes them more likely to show up later in the middle of a random moment. Some small things that have helped me: staying close to people who genuinely love and care about me, letting myself cry in the shower, taking long walks, and soaking up a little sun whenever I can (if this weather stays consistent).

(Image Credit: Pinterest)

Keep moving forward, but don't let your emotions take the wheel. Give yourself space to feel and process, but don't stay stuck there. When emotions take over, your everyday routine can feel stressful and heavy, keeping you from functioning at your full potential. Functioning isn't the same as being okay.

Sometimes it just means getting through the day without falling apart in public.

It's okay to have a back-and-forth with your emotions. Some days you will feel strong, some days you will feel like curling up in bed and just not going about the day. Healing is not going to be consistent. Just because we think we are healed, does not mean those emotions won't come crawling back through a reminder. But that doesn't mean you failed or went backwards. It usually just means there's still something there and you're meeting it on a different day, as a different version of you.

Healing is messy. Some days you will feel okay, and some days you won't. At the end of the day, healing doesn't have to be perfect to be real. If you're still showing up, still trying, still choosing yourself in small ways, you're already doing more than you think.