Trauma Support Check-in: October 2nd- October 8th 2021
Progress
A common pattern amongst trauma support survivors is the expectations they have for their journey towards healing. We question ourselves and start to consciously set out on this daunting path of recovery. What do we expect at the end of it? For many, it is to reach a point where all those difficult memories won't hurt anymore. I expected that too.
Is it really like that, though?
There is this particular quote that I connect to: "We're all a work in progress, through the good days and the bad". We may never reach that perfect destination or ever completely move on from our trauma but throughout this journey, we are in it together. We make progress. We move on with our trauma and don't let it control our lives anymore.
For me, progress was when I learnt to accept that there will be days where all the memories come rushing back. There will also be days where I feel that I've finally left my past behind. My journey is a combination of those days and I don't have to meet any unrealistic expectations.
Questions:
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)?
2. What does progress mean to you?
3. How has your past week been?
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
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@cuteeeezombieeee
Hi~! (^w^)
1. Cloudy with light winds and a few streams of sunlight piercing through to produce a misty, but beautiful illumination.
2. Progress means getting better while at the same time acknowledging that setbacks can still occur, and that that's okay.
3. It's had its fair share of ups and downs. I'd say the scale weighs more on the better side than the worse side.
4. This poetry book called break your glass slippers by Amanda Lovelace. I've particularly been rereading the poem on page 39, which goes:
you are not a thing
that can ever be
claimed, conquered,
or irreparably ruined
by someone else's hands.
he may like to think
he wields that much power,
but he doesn't.
Thank you for the check-in; I appreciate you! ❤️
Questions:
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)? mostly clear today with a bit of haziness early morn.
2. What does progress mean to you? the ability to See where I have been, and not be in the same spot..
3. How has your past week been? been sick but getting better
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
A reply from a person I admire here at 7cups.
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)? Sunny
2. What does progress mean to you? moving ahead
3. How has your past week been? Good
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
Listening to the gospel radio
1. rainy and muddy with some sun sometimes.
@cuteeeezombieeee
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)?
Today a beautiful sunny fall day with lots of red and orange fall foliage (We have a later fall season)
2. What does progress mean to you?
Progress means setting goals that are realistic
3. How has your past week been?
The first part of last week was the tail end of a depressive episode where I had cried for several days in a row. That said, I got back on track exercising, eating right, etc. It also ended on a high note because our professional home team won the championship game so I celebrated. I also went to my first revolving sushi bar.
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
A few things, a ministry gave me a great Christian book that I find super helpful. I also started listening to a few great podcasts related to grief and positive psychology
Thank you so much for this post!
SELF CHECK IN:
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)?
Personal weather is sun shining through the pine trees up in the White Mountains of Arizona.
2. What does progress mean to you?
Progress is the relief feeling in which comes over a you the moment your head hits your pillow, knowing the day was complete, full and done.
3. How has your past week been?
This past week was busy, full of moving parts and was suppose to be a vacation. It did not feel at all like a vacation.
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
Seeing the goal come closer to graduation and the completion of a very long college career. This definitely has inspired me to continue to keep working on something no matter how long it takes.
Great reflection.
Study: The impact of COVID-19 in people's lives and the protective role of compassion in processes of grief and loss in this context!
Hello. im new here to the trauma support forum, not 7cups - ive been around 7cups a long time. i am not yet comfy introducing myself or sharing my story but i wanted to say hi, so...hi! and i wanted to do this check in :)
1. What is your personal weather status(cloudy, foggy, sunny breaks etc)?
emotional weather forecast for me today is periods of intense rain and wind gusts that are so strong you need to tie things down to they don't get caught up and blown away in it. dont get caught in this storm because it will feel like trying to breathe while having an asthma attack - though possibility of the storm calming throughout the day and trying to shine through the clouds.
2. What does progress mean to you?
to me, progress means movement towards my goal. my goal is to no longer have my past traumas affect who i am today in such a way that it decreases my quality of life and makes me view myself as less than or intrinsically bad. i expect days that suck! but progress is movement towards healing and being free.
3. How has your past week been?
my week has not been too great. mostly isolating, lots of emotional flashbacks, feeling Very Alone. I keep trying to find a therapist and i still can not find one . ive reached out to so many but everyone is booked solid. i feel like i am fighting for my right to heal but i can only fight so long.
4. What is something you came across recently that gave you hope or inspiration?
ive been diagnosed a long time ago as ptsd yet i know ( without a doubt) the more accurate description would be cptsd. i keep getting these emotional flashbacks so i googled if that was a thing and it was - i found cptsd and found that i finally found something that completely describes the things i could not put words to. i no longer feel like a freak or a misfit or emotionally weak - there are reasons for me being like how i am. and here is the best and most inspiring part: this is a Learned response to trauma. which means i can Unlearn it. this can get better and i can be my authentic self and live my authentic life - that which i had a right to have but was taken from me.
