Recovery. There are so many different ways to define the word recovery, and sometimes the amount of complexity that goes into recovery is what makes it the dynamic and emotional experience that it is. Whether you’re recovering from a mental health issue, or a physical injury, or even just a bad day, here’s ten quotes (from many) that I absolutely love about recovery.
1- It’s okay to be a glowstick, sometimes we need to break before we shine.
I love the simplicity of this cute quote, and honestly it’s just a wonderful (and adorable) metaphor. Most of us have cracked glowsticks and bent them around to activate their glow, and to think of obstacles in our life like this is a really nice perspective on recovery!
2 – An ode to the wonders of our hearts.
“The human heart beats approximately 4000 times per hour // and each pulse, each throb, each palpitation is a trophy engraved with the words “you are still alive” // … so act like it.” When I first read it, I stopped to feel my heartbeat. I couldn’t resist it, and this is honestly a beautiful reminder that you shouldn’t be throwing your life away when being alive in itself is so wondrous. Slow down, appreciate your heartbeat, and collect your trophies!
3 – This amazing snippet of Japanese culture that urges you to fill your cracks with gold.
“In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece of the object’s history, which adds to its beauty. Consider this when you feel broken.”
Imagine if all your scars suddenly glowed? That’d be awesome, am I right? I know, I shouldn’t be taking this meaningful quote literally, but I just had to put that thought out there! Anyway, the symbolic resonance of this quote is endless, because our “breaks” are a part of our history, and we shouldn’t be hiding our history- it’s what makes us unique. The same goes with recovering from anything. Just because your history has a few tumultuous patches doesn’t mean it’s anything to be ashamed of.
4- Healing is not linear.
I especially love the visualization on this one! I think that this beautiful healing quote speaks for itself, but can’t help adding that when a lot of people are in the process of recovering, they go in with the mindset that it’s a straight path forward when really it isn’t.
5 – Pain is real, but so is hope.
This one hit me so hard because of how true it is. It’s also completely realistic. You cannot, under any circumstances, deny the existence of pain, but that doesn’t stop the existence of hope, and I think that’s one realization we should all come to at some point or the other in our recovery journey.
6 – This beautiful declaration by Brené Brown.
“If we share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive. ”
This positive quote by Brené Brown really just encapsulates the importance of communication and speaking out when you’re trying to recover- you don’t have to do it alone. Your voice doesn’t need to remain isolated.
7 – Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
It’s a meaningful quote, but it’s thought provoking and is good to keep in mind for whenever you feel like everything is falling apart.
8 – You aren’t what you’ve done..
“You are not what you have done, you are what you have overcome.”
This is wonderful for people who have actually been inflicting themselves with harm (self-harmers, people recovering from eating disorders, anyone recovering from an addiction or anybody who’s made a mistake etc.) and I think when recovering from things of this nature we often forget to forgive ourselves, which winds up being a huge hurdle in the recovery process!
9 – This beautiful dialogue of self-love.
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” Lucille Ball
Because so much of making a complete recovery revolves around loving the skin you live in, I think that inspirational love yourself quotes show you how easy it can be to begin loving yourself if you have the will to do so. Love yourself, and you will thank yourself for making that decision later down the line.
10 – The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.
This is one nugget of wisdom that i find myself coming back to a whole lot. We’ve all heard that the truth will set us free, but often this cliche is misrepresented. The truth does set you free, but sometimes it will piss you off first. Is it the harsh reality of not getting that position you wanted, or the fact that you haven’t left bed in two days or the fact that you’ve been hurting yourself and the people around you? Are those the inconvenient truths in your life? Well, live by this quote and accept the truth. Sure, it’s going to tick you off for a while (nobody wants to admit they’ve failed) but then it will set you free.
That’s it for this post! I hope you like these quotes as much as I do, I think they offer a really healthy perspective on recovery and some of them are my personal favorites. You’re worth recovery, and I have faith that you’ll get there eventually. Till next time;
Love, Queertastic 🙂
L
These are wonderful quotes. “Healing is not linear,” is something I wish I had known many years ago. When I went to my first therapist and got better, I thought that was it! Don’t need no more therapy! Yeah, no. Each crisis in my life needed therapy. Sometimes, like when my father died, I only needed one session. But I really needed it.
Wow, thanks for sharing 🙂 I think that’s just one of many real life examples about healing not being linear. It’s not like in movies where the conflict is a one-shot thing, haha xD I love the way you’re approaching all the obstacles in your life, I think your perspective is really awesome 🙂
Interesting! Thanks a lot!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing! 😀 😀
These are awesome! Thanks!
Love them! Hard to pick a favourite. I think I like number 3 the best.