You try to put it out of your mind all day.

You’re continually moving and taking on extra work to stay busy.

Distracting yourself seems to be the most effective way to cope.

And shoving it down is much easier than dealing with it.

But the pain always shows up again.

As soon as there’s a down moment, those negative thoughts flood back.

All at once, your heart starts pounding, and you become short of breath as your body switches into survival mode.

Then you’re right back where you were, experiencing all the same feelings as when your wounds were fresh.

It’s frustrating that you haven’t been
able to move past this.

You told yourself that the pain would eventually subside if you just ignored it for long enough.

But that hasn’t been the case.

And now you’re filled with shame that you can’t fix it on your own.

Sometimes, you just feel like giving up.

What’s the point in even trying?  you wonder.

Clearly, there’s no way through this mess for me.

I might as well resign myself to this painful existence.