Healing is not linear.

Healing is often imagined as a straight path—one where you start broken and, step by step, arrive at a place of wholeness. But if you’ve ever been on a healing journey, you know that’s not how it works. Healing isn’t a neat, linear process. It’s a winding road filled with progress, setbacks, breakthroughs, and moments that feel like you’re back where you started. And that’s okay.

Growth Comes in Waves, Not Straight Lines

Think of healing like the ocean. Some days, the waves are calm, gently carrying you forward. Other days, they crash unexpectedly, pulling you under when you least expect it. That doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’re moving.

Healing isn’t about never feeling pain again; it’s about learning how to ride the waves instead of being swallowed by them.

Setbacks Aren’t Failures

One of the biggest misconceptions about healing is that if you struggle again, it means all your progress was for nothing. That’s simply not true.

• A moment of sadness after months of joy doesn’t erase your happiness.

• A trigger that brings up old wounds doesn’t mean you haven’t grown.

• A step backward doesn’t mean you aren’t still moving forward.

Setbacks aren’t signs that you’re broken—they’re reminders that healing is a process, not a destination.

Unlearning Takes Time

If your wounds come from years of conditioning, trauma, or self-doubt, it’s unrealistic to expect yourself to heal overnight. You’re not just healing—you’re relearning how to exist without the weight of what hurt you.

That takes time. Be patient with yourself.

Progress Looks Different for Everyone

Some days, healing looks like therapy sessions, deep conversations, and emotional breakthroughs. Other days, it looks like getting out of bed, drinking water, and breathing through the hard moments. Both are progress.

Healing doesn’t have to look like constant transformation. Sometimes, it looks like surviving. And that’s more than enough.

Be Gentle with Yourself

If you’re in the middle of your healing journey, remind yourself that you’re not doing it wrong just because it’s messy. You are learning. You are growing. You are healing—even on the days it doesn’t feel like it.

Keep going. One step, one breath, one moment at a time.