YOUR PAIN IS NOT YOUR SELF-DEFINITION.
And what I mean by that is not that your pain doesn't matter, or doesn't hurt, or doesn't feel like the end of the world right now (because it probably does, and rightfully so). But just because something's pressing down on your heart right now doesn't mean that you have to live the entirety of your life being a victim to it. What has happened in the past, what you're experiencing right now - those things are not what make you, you.
You are infinitely more than what's tried to bury you. You are strong, simply in facing another day.
And I know that you've probably heard this before, maybe even a hundred times. I know it's annoying to have someone tell you how to overcome something when you're in the middle of it and that's the last thing you have the energy to do. I know how frustrating it can be when the rest of the world looks happy or says, 'get over it - you'll be fine!' and you're just not okay or fine at all.
I'm not trying to say that you need to get over your pain and just put a smile on your face. That's not realistic or healthy. But what I AM saying is that you have to allow yourself to feel, to experience, to break, and then to heal.
And this IS possible.
Regardless of the length of time it takes for you to get to a place of rebuilding, know that you are not and never will be chalked up to what has happened to you.
One day you'll look back and this pain will be a mere memory. But if it hurts right now, just breathe. Just hold on. Just keep fighting, keep moving at your own pace and know that you're okay. You're okay. You're okay.
