Take a deep breath.
Let all the noise drift away.
Let's clock out and tune in.
Here's moving out of self-pity and into self-love.
Sometimes my fears get the best of me.
I have the tendency to pull away and isolate myself.
Closing off the world,
Shutting off my feelings.
I don't want to do that anymore.
This time,
I'm not going to wallow in self-pity.
That's not who I am.
That's my fear peeking through.
I will no longer let fear control me or my life.
I will no longer let fear keep me from the support I need.
I'm not a victim.
I am a survivor in my own right.
I honor my emotional health.
Without sacrificing others.
I do not abandon my pain.
I do not project it onto others.
Instead,
I choose to validate and process it.
I'm doing the emotional work.
To rise above my doubts and my faults.
I am a work in progress.
I am making the effort.
I recognize when I want to escape.
I make art out of my hurt.
I turn negative emotions into beautiful creations.
I am not a martyr.
I am a conduit of love.
I don't have to suffer in silence.
I don't have to drown in my emotional state.
Instead,
I honor it for what it is.
Without getting lost in it.
There are life rafts all around me.
I am allowed to take hold of them.
I am allowed to ride the wave of my emotions.
As turbulent as they may be.
I will not let them trap me.
Disillusion me.
Or pull me under.
I am a warrior.
A dreamer.
I am my own advocate.
I am worthy of the support I seek.
And give.
I respond with the same softness extended to others.
I recognize when I'm not equipped to face something alone.
And those times I reach out to the experts.
I seek counsel.
I find shelter and support.
I recognize trauma bonds.
And trauma dumping for what they are.
In those moments,
I'm not afraid of being abandoned.
I gently reinforce my boundaries.
I do not resort to sacrificing myself.
I remain sensitive to others' needs.
As well as my own.
I do the emotional labor.
To better myself with each day.
It's a labor of love.
That I do for myself and no one else.
I may empathize with others.
But they are responsible for their own feelings.
I recognize when that line gets blurry.
I no longer rely on the misconceptions of fear.
I resist the fear of being judged.
For my invisible struggles.
They are real.
They are valid.
How I handle them is valid.
I am responsible for what I do with my feelings.
That's why I don't let them pile up.
That's why I don't let them control me.
Instead,
I choose to handle them with care.
And I do not fear them.
Compassion is my superpower.
And I now use those powers to move out of self-pity.
And into self-love.
