Trigger warning, this podcast contains discussions relating to PTSD, trauma, mental health, suicide and other potentially distressing experiences. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you can call Lifeline on 131114.
Recovery is often focused on surviving what happened to us. But what happens when we’re ready to start actually enjoying life again?
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about trauma, PTSD, identity, nervous system regulation, grief, illness and rebuilding. But there’s another part of recovery I don’t think we talk about nearly enough: fun.
For a long time, PTSD made my world smaller. I became used to asking whether I could handle something rather than whether I might actually love it. Now, I’m learning that joy isn’t frivolous after trauma. It can be a sign that life is getting bigger again.
I don’t want the rest of my life to be defined by recovering from what happened to me. I want to see how good I can make the life that’s left.
In this episode I share:
- Why I believe fun and joy deserve a place alongside the more serious parts of trauma recovery
- How PTSD slowly shrank my world and made fear the filter for so many of my decisions
- How I shifted from asking “what if I can’t handle it?” to “what if I absolutely love it?”
- Why I’ve started deliberately putting things in my calendar that I genuinely look forward to
- How creating an “Alive Again” list can help us reconnect with the things that make us feel most like ourselves
- Why I stopped waiting until I was healed, confident or “ready” before allowing myself to live
- Why I now see having fun, letting go and trying something new as acts of courage
- How my definition of strength has changed from what I can endure to how much life I’m willing to let back in
- Why I believe joy can coexist with trauma, grief and everything we’ve survived
- Why I’m no longer interested in simply getting through life, but in how good I can make the life that’s left
Key Quotes
“Joy is not frivolous after trauma. It is evidence that life is getting bigger and better again.”
“I was spending so much energy asking, what if I can't handle it? That I wasn't asking, what if I absolutely, really love it?”
“Sometimes allowing yourself to fall in love with life again is so courageous.”
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