1. Trauma Healing Is Not Linear—It’s More Like a Spiral Staircase

I thought progress would look like a straight line up. But healing often feels like revisiting the same themes again and again—just from a slightly wiser, more resourced place. If you’re circling back, you’re not failing. You’re deepening.

✨ Sometimes you feel like you’re repeating your story over and over—but you’re actually zooming out with more perspective each time. You get steadier as you reflect. It’s like peeling an onion: each layer reveals more of your truth.

2. Feeling Worse Before You Feel Better Is… a Thing

When I first started trauma work, I was shocked by how much more anxious, tender, or raw I felt after some sessions. I didn’t realize I was surfacing things that had been buried for years. That discomfort wasn’t a sign I was broken—it meant my system was waking up.

🛑 At times we have to slow down to heal. It’s okay to privilege your needs—especially if that’s new. Orienting toward yourself helps you be present for whatever comes next.

3. Not Every Therapist Is Equipped for Trauma—And That’s OK to Say Out Loud

I wish someone had told me that “trauma-informed” is not a protected title. Some therapists use it without truly understanding dissociation, attachment wounds, or nervous system dysregulation. It’s okay to vet your therapist. You deserve to feel safe, seen, and respected.

🪞Some therapists might have shamed your very normal reactions to very abnormal situations. Be wary of those who encourage you to move on or forgive too soon. You get to be as angry or sad as you need, when you need. Every emotion has wisdom. You’re learning who you are as you welcome each one.

4. You Don’t Have to Tell Everything at Once (Or Ever)

I thought therapy meant spilling all my secrets right away. In truth, safety builds slowly. You get to choose what to share, when, and how. Trust is earned—and good therapy honors your pace, not the therapist’s agenda.

🧘‍♀️ It’s only when you feel truly safe that your parts can emerge—your inner critic, your shadow self, the parts that have been exiled or pushed down. They’re not coming forward to derail you. They’re showing up to be witnessed.

5. You Are Not Too Much—You Were Just Carrying Too Much

This one took me years to learn. I was never too sensitive, too emotional, or too complicated. I was surviving. And now I’m learning to thrive. If you’re reading this and feel like you’re “a lot”—you’re not. You’re just ready for a lot more truth, peace, and self-trust.

💥 You are allowed to just be you. No performance. No perfection. No apology.

“Trauma healing is not linear—it’s more like rootwork.

Every time you revisit an old wound, you’re not going backward.

You’re growing deeper. Stronger. More anchored.

Just like a tree roots down before it reaches for the sky.”