Day 336: You Are a Survivor

You are a survivor. You are not a victim. The pain, suffering, and hurt that you lived through in growing up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family does not make you weak or damaged. You are not broken and no amount of trying to relive your past in present relationships will ever erase your childhood.

What happened is in the past.

How you choose to move forward is up to you.

Do you identify yourself as a victim who is powerless?

Or do you see yourself as a survivor who is strong?

The strength that you have from within is powerful and can open new doors for you if you allow it.

When we play into old patterns and roles, we’re doing a disservice to ourselves. We’re not allowing our strength to shine through. As painful and difficult as our past was, our present is ours to own.

The choices that we make each day will help move us forward to a better tomorrow. The work we do takes time and requires patience of ourselves. Some decisions that we make will be hard, but not impossible.

When we allow ourselves to fall into the traps of the past, we’re wasting the time we have today. If our parent or parents still drink or still engage in dysfunctional behavior, we need to put up a strong boundary between you and them. As a child, you did not have the ability to do that. But as an adult, you have the power to set who you have a relationship with and who you don’t. It’s your choice now.

Use that choice wisely.


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