“There are times we try to forgive ourselves for something we shouldn’t even have to forgive ourselves for. The traumas you experienced were not your fault. As a survivor, you didn't deserve to be abused, violated, assaulted or taken advantage of.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“My father beat her when he liked. She never complained, and, in fact, she always spoke about how much she loved him. That was what love was.”— Randa Jarrar, medium.com
“If you talk to more SURVIVORS and less sexist businessmen maybe you’ll understand what we want. We want safety. We want healing. We want accountability. We want closure. We want to live a life free from shame.”— Tarana Burke, twitter.com
“Repression only leads to further depression – bringing these emotional ailments to the surface, however, gives them a greater chance to be exposed to medicine and heal.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“That's what people do, they mend. You taught me that. And sometimes you end up stronger at the broken places.”— Joseph Dougherty, Caleb Rivers, Tyler Blackburn, imdb.com
“Pain. You just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its on. Hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers. You just breath deep and wait for it subside. Most of the time pain can be managed, but sometimes the pain gets you when you least expect it, hits way below…”— Shonda Rhimes, Dr. Meredith Grey, Ellen Pompeo, imdb.com
“Self-esteem is an inside job and there might come a point that you realize she just isn’t ready for you. That’s okay. Someone else will be.”— Bridget Phetasy, melmagazine.com
“You know, I've learned that, in the short time I've had the privilege of being a dad... it heals wounds, just being there for your kid.”— Erica Messer, Kirsten Vangsness, David Rossi, Joe Mantegna, imdb.com
“The story of getting better can be just as compelling as the story of falling apart.”— Leslie Jamison, vulture.com
“Sharing my story has been not only healing for others but healing for myself. And I’ve been able to just create something more because I didn’t want people to feel the pain I felt losing my father and the pain I felt struggling with my own depression and attempting to take my own life.”— Amy Bleuel, underthelabels.wordpress.com
“Maybe that's what love is. Giving others the power to hurt you and trusting that they'll use it to heal you instead.”— C.J. Redwine, amazon.com
“Silence about trauma also leads to death—the death of the soul. Silence reinforces the godforsaken isolation of trauma. Being able to say aloud to another human being, “I was raped” or “I was battered by my husband” or “My parents called it discipline, but it was abuse” or “I’m not making it since I…”— Bessel Van Der Kolk, amazon.com
“It's no coincidence that our tears are made of salt water and salt water heals wounds. So cry until your eyes burn; your soul knows how to heal itself.”— Amelia Jane, instagram.com
“He couldn't stand me being sick. Nobody can. They only want to hear that you're healing, you're in recovery, taking it one day at a time. If you're locked into sick, you should stop wasting their time and just get dead.”— Laurie Halse Anderson, amazon.com
“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”— Louise Hay, amazon.com
“Forgiveness leads to a shift in perception. It transforms the hurt into healing.”— Iyanla Vanzant, twitter.com