Affirmations for healing from trauma
This is an episode transcript of my podcast, Healing is the Best Revenge, episode 21 on “Affirmations for Survivors”.
Welcome to Healing is the Best Revenge, a podcast for survivors and the folks who love us, where we discuss the politics of survivorship, healing, and self plus community care. This is a space where we honor the messy and complex realities of healing from trauma, rejecting pedestals and perfectionism along the way.
Hi, I’m your host, Karina Hagelin. I’m a survivor with complex post-traumatic stress disorder AKA C-PTSD and, I get it. I’m here to offer affirmations, pep talks, encouragement, support, and conversations about being in the messy murky middle of healing from trauma. Wherever you’re at in your journey, I believe in you. And I believe you. Welcome to Healing is the Best Revenge, sweet friend.
Hi sweet friend, it’s Karina. Welcome to the 21st episode of Healing is the Best Revenge!
How have you been? I’ve been doing pretty okay! Earlier this week, I sent out the preorders for the Survivor Affirmation Deck. Folks should be getting their decks starting today and I’m so excited to see what people think. I’m also gearing up for launching the Kickstarter for the second edition of the Survivor Affirmation Deck. The project officially opens February 1st & I’ll have 30 days to raise funds for printing 40+ decks. Feel free to start following the Kickstarter and/also sharing it; every little bit helps! I’m really anxious about ramping up my online presence for this project. I’m chronically ill with multiple autoimmune and connective tissue disorders & I need to focus on sustainable social media marketing because my bodymind literally can’t “hustle” anymore.
For today’s episode, I thought I’d do a zine reading of my second survivor affirmations zine. If you’re interested, you can purchase a physical or digital copy in my shop. I also have the affirmations from the zine available as prints you can hang on your wall. So, without further ado, let’s read Affirmations for Survivors #2.
“Hi babe,
I didn’t think I’d be creating a second issue of my zine, “the Little Book of Affirmations for Survivors,” but here I am.
We deserve to feel seen and heard and cared for and supported: like we aren’t alone in this. Trauma is so isolating but we don’t have to do this by ourselves. There are so many of us, whole movements and communities, and we care for and about each other SO MUCH.
As survivors, we should receive an abundance of care and support and love as we heal but most of us don’t; many of us don’t even hear the simplest affirmation, “I believe you,” from our loved ones, our friends, our families, or our communities.
I want to offer you these affirmations, created with care and crafted just for you, in a cute and colorful zine you can carry with you anywhere you go.
xoxo Karina
Asking for help is brave as fuck.
I am creating a dreamy life for myself, one where I am thriving.
I am healing, boldly and brilliantly.
No is a complete sentence.
I am my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and my strongest advocate.
I am starting my journey NOW.
I deserve healing.
Better things are coming.
I don’t have to forgive to heal.
I am enough, exactly as I am.
I deserve to be surrounded by friends who believe and love and adore and support and care about me.
I am doing big, scary, difficult work - and it’s 100% worth it.
I am claiming my power.
I am a gift, not a burden.
Keep going.
I am constantly evolving and transforming into the most cosmic, technicolor, juicy version of myself.
I am fearlessly and stubbornly devoted to my dreams.
I deserve support and care, no strings attached.
I am already whole.
My potential is unlimited; there is a galaxy brimming with possibilities right in front of me.
I am proud of myself.
I am radiant and powerful and brilliant.
Celebrate the “small” wins.
I am creating a life filled with abundant magic.
My comeback is so much greater than my setbacks.
The best I can do is perfectly good enough.
I’m still here.
Healing is cyclical, not linear.
Healing is movement.
Healing is gradual.
Healing is a practice.
Healing is transformative.
Healing is worth it.
Healing is the best revenge.
The latter half is titled, “A love letter to ‘bad’ survivors” and goes like this:
To survivors who are vengeful, who are fragile, who are called hysterical, to survivors who are “unlikeable” and unpopular: you deserve healing.
To survivors who cry in public, who aren’t “good survivors”, to survivors who show us there are so many ways to heal: you deserve healing.
To survivors who are told they feel too much, who are told they talk about it too much, to survivors who are intense and emotional and sensitive: you deserve healing.
To survivors who name their rapists, who create “drama,” to survivors who gossip to protect our communities, who don’t tolerate rape apologists: you deserve healing.
To survivors who use drugs, who are sober or practice harm reduction, to survivors who are self-identified sluts, who are kinky, who don’t have sex at all: you deserve healing.
All survivors, ALL OF US, deserve healing, regardless of how much people like us or how much social capital we have. We don’t owe anyone our stories in order to access the resources, care, support, community, and spaces we need to heal. We deserve support, without judgement or strings attached.
the end/fine
I want to talk about the good/bad survivor dichotomy but I’ll save that for the next episode, to keep this one short, sweet, and accessible. I hope you found some of these affirmations and words of support and encouragement helpful, sweet friend.
Before I go, I want ask for your help in getting this podcast to more folks who need it.
I’d love it if you could share a screenshot of this podcast to Instagram and tag me in it, subscribe to or follow this show, leave me a five star review or rating, and/or share this show with a loved one. I really want this podcast to reach more people who need it. Thanks for your support!
Okay, sweet friend. As always, I believe you and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye for now!
