WARNING The following content may cause flash backs. Please read at own risk.
October is a month of spooky witches and scary movies but don’t let the ghosts of your past ruin the fun for you. Many of us have scars of some sort. They may be emotional or physical but it’s usually hard to admit they’re there sometimes.
Perhaps it’s a physical scar from when you fell off your bike the first time or an emotional scar from your first breakup. They could fade over the course of a few months or they could be there for a lifetime. Either way it’s important that you make peace with them so that they don’t haunt you.
I’m no newbie when it comes to scars. I have them up and down my legs from leg surgeries and also from self-harm. Learning to love these took some time but I finally got there.
The scars from my leg surgery were easier to love because of the support group I had. They would create drawings around them or come up with different stories of how I got them when people asked. A few of my favorite were the ones where I was picked up by pirates for a year and climbing Mount Everest. (Neither of which happened.) But they were able to turn them into something positive and remind me that I was now physically stronger because of the bone reconstruction and physical therapy that I had to endure.
Self-harm scars were a different story though. No one knew about them for a long time so I always viewed them as a constant reminder of weakness. Little did I know that those “moments of weakness” were making me stronger in the long run.
I learned to love myself the hard way but I did get there. Those experiences also taught me to appreciate life and to appreciate the friends I had who unknowingly helped me through hard times. I still struggle with the depression and anxiety that caused me to self-harm but as of writing this I am 2 years clean!
There will always be obstacles in your life. Emotional or physical and sometimes even spiritual. If you fall and get a boo boo then it doesn’t make you weaker. It makes you stronger.
If you’re ever struggling to love the scars that made you the person you are today then try getting a Ne-Yo in your life and ask them to love you until you learn to love yourself. But on a serious note, talk to those around you or if you don’t feel comfortable talking to friends, family or a counselor then try talking to yourself. Talk to yourself the way that you would talk to someone you love whether you say it out loud in front of a mirror or written down in a journal.
You will be able to overcome the ghosts of your past and come out stronger than you thought you were. Don’t let your scars creep up and scare you. Instead learn to love them as being a part of you.