Hey folks, I hope you all are doing well and sailing through fine. I know my blog took longer than I usually share, but my writing took a break because of too much happening in my life, personally and professionally. But that’s what life is, or rather, adulting. Understanding everything can be tricky, and going with the flow can be challenging. This blog would generally be about how far I have come in my healing journey after the trauma I got and the amount of boosting I did for myself not to give up and just keep going because life doesn’t stop for anyone.

The trauma I got made sure that I questioned my existence, myself, and, most importantly, how I am as a human being. Still, thankfully, my family, my therapist, and very supportive friends made sure to let go of my sh*t or the idea that I was not good enough. If taking a stand for yourself, speaking your heart out in the world, and letting everyone know that you are a woman who can take a stand against something does not mean that you will suffer just because of others; refusal to speak up is conceived as “too open-minded”, then I guess I am one rebellious woman who will always speak up about the topics we are usually told not to discuss or the fact that” what will people think?” I have come a long way from the prevalent “What will society think?” What will people say? Or shh, it’s a closed matter; don’t speak out loud. The day I wrote my first blog was the day I told myself I would never stop writing about mental health or the basic idea of what I am going through in life and how, through my writing, I can maybe help or support a person who is scared to speak up or take a stand for themselves. I know it’s easier said than done; I have been in that boat, but look at the brighter picture. If I can speak up, so can you. Don’t ever feel alone.

Lately, I have been through a lot of stress, which has affected me physically in ways I have never imagined, but I am fighting my inner demons and making sure they don’t speak for me or give me the idea to give up. I may feel like giving up, which I often do, especially in the past week, but I remember why I started writing every time I felt like giving up. The idea that, parika, you are a survivor and you’ve got to get going because I know how important it is in life, not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong,

There is this quote by Carl Jung where he says,” I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.” This has stuck in my head since my depression journey and the trauma I experienced. Isn’t it beautiful that sometimes when you fight, the path becomes a source of inspiration, and when you defeat it, you see, with those tears in your eyes, how far you have come in the battles that life throws at you? You don’t have to be positive immediately; sit with your heavy feelings and understand them. Know their origin, and then you may start addressing them. Trust me, it took me a long time, but it’s brave to examine your emotions instead of ignoring them. My therapist once told me that you can’t spend your life avoiding heartbreaks or bad things from happening. You have to condition yourself to have appropriate emotional responses, but along with that, you have to keep moving forward because, darling, that’s life. I can never thank my therapist enough for bombarding me with truth bombs and repeatedly giving me a reality check. In this chaotic, busy life, we sometimes need someone to show us what we aren’t looking at. And as I always say, there is no harm in asking for help.

I often forget this when I am overwhelmed or worked up, but I will share that your greatest need is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish cluttering your mind. One must learn to choose their thoughts daily, just as they would prefer their clothes. I often cry, but sometimes there are good tears too, maybe tears of gratitude, when I realize that my healing journey was the path home to myself. Moving forward and healing don’t depend on someone’s apology. Remind yourself that you get to write your own story. As my favourite author, Brene Brown, says,” Owing your story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do”.

This version of me was not built overnight. This is experience, pain, and insecurities. I had to go through things to get to the level I’m at now. And I have no intention of giving up. Life showed me things that I never wanted to see. I have experienced clinical depression, sadness, heartbreak, and failures. Still, one thing that kept me going was that you have to bet on yourself every single time because I’m learning how genuinely solo this life game is. Every breath is a reminder that you are alive, you are here, and you can change your life. Never let someone take that from you. With the ordeals I have been through, I have learned one thing: you don’t always have to be strong. Sometimes you need to scream the shit out or have a really good cry. But you always, like always, need to pull yourself back together and keep going because one step is better than no step.

I am still learning, surviving, and sailing through because, when all seems against me, I remember that a ship sometimes has to flow against the current, not with it. Ending this blog with my favourite woman’s MANIFESTO OF THE BRAVE AND BROKEN HEARTED –

There is no more significant threat to the critics, cynics and fearmongers Than those willing to fall. We have learned how to rise. With skinned knees and bruised hearts, We choose to own our stories of struggle—over hiding, over hustling, over pretending. When we deny our stories, they define us. When we run from struggle, we are never free. So we turn toward the truth and look it in the eye. We will not be characters in our stories. Not villains, not victims, not even heroes. We are the authors of our lives. We write our own daring endings. We craft love from heartbreak, Compassion from shame, Grace from disappointment, and courage from failure. Showing up is our power. The story is about our way home. The truth is our song. We are the brave and the brokenhearted. We are rising strong.”

― Brené Brown, Rising Strong: The Reckoning The Rumble. The Revolution.

Sending you lots of love, positivity and hope ❤