The Peaceful Garden

A blog for stress-relief

[nomoredreaming]

[thepeacefulgarden]

And you don't have to wait for anyone else's permission or approval. You don't have to wait until things get worse, or until you hit rock bottom. You don't have to wait until you finish school, get into a relationship, get married, get a "real" job, reach a certain age, or die. You don't have to wait until next week, next month, or next year. You don't get just this one chance, either.

You can grow, change, and start over now. As many times as you need to.

[thepeacefulgarden]

And yes, it's absolutely okay to take a step back and prioritize your mental health.

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thelatestkate]

Shop , Patreon , Books and Cards , Mailing List

[wetheurban]

You will heal. You will create again. You will wake up genuinely excited about your life. You will laugh again. You will get out of survival mode. You will trust yourself again. You will get your spark back. You will find your way back to yourself. You will. You will. You will.

[borderlinereminders]

Your First Anchor

Take one minute and write down a memory of a good moment you’ve had recently. It doesn’t need to be huge. It could be a laugh with a friend, a warm meal, or even a quiet moment where you felt okay.

Write down as much detail as you can including who was there, what was said, what you felt in your body. If it was a moment you laughed, what was funny? Talk about it. Did you feel like crying from laughing too hard? If it’s about a warm meal, describe the taste and what it was. If it was a quiet moment, describe where you were and what was happening. The more detail you include, the easier it may be to reconnect with that memory later. Then put this into your anchor box! (I recommend a physical box for some physical items later on, but this can also absolutely start out as a note or folder in your phone.)

If this is something that you end up finding helpful, it might be worth having a folder, envelope or jar of some sort in your anchor box so that you can keep adding memories to it as they come up.

If you'd like to follow along with doing an anchor box, see my master post here.

[serenityquest]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[thepeacefulgarden]

[wetheurban]

Sometimes “locking in” looks like sitting in the sun and remembering that your life is also meant to be lived, not just optimized, monetized, and turned into proof that you’re worthy.

[thepeacefulgarden]

[liberaljane]

Everyone needs help sometimes. It doesn't mean you're weak.

[thepeacefulgarden]

[traumasurvivors]

Some of us aren’t strong. We survived because there was no alternative. The only way through was… through.

But it’s okay if we aren’t one of the strong ones. We are still just as valuable and deserving of credit and support for surviving.

(And before anyone comes on here to tell me that I’m wrong and I’m strong, that’s not your place. I’m not strong. And I don’t say that as a bad thing. I’m okay with it and admitting it has allowed me to heal. It isn’t a moral failing to not be strong.)

[traumasurvivors]

Love seeing this in my notes again!

Just want to say a reminder that I’m not saying trauma survivors as a whole aren’t strong, but that we have a right to decide if we personally consider ourselves strong or not. Every time this turns up in my notes again, I get a comment or ask telling me off.

And to those of us who don’t feel strong, then you deserve to know that’s okay! You’re still valid and worthy of love, support and healing.

Like is it my instinct to think someone else is strong even if they don’t feel it? Yes, absolutely. But as someone on the other side, I don’t think it’s up to me to disagree with their feelings. And for me, what helped me was thinking it’s okay to not be strong rather than convince myself I am strong. Everyone is different though. If this rubs you wrong, then the post isn’t for you.