I identify as a survivor. On each Dealing to Healing social media platform, my bio reads the same, “Survivor of abandonment, narcissists relationships, trauma & addiction.” The first definition of survivor is a person who survives, especially a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died. A second definition is a person who copes well with difficulties in their life.
Survivors deserve medals and the highest recognition for their strength. The strength of a survivor is a strength that compares to no other mortal. Maybe because they’re superheroes. We’ve endured more than most or what should be allowed. Our long-suffering has been ongoing since birth. We have fought to be seen, heard, and to breathe. We’ve been left for dead more than once with nobody around to save us. We’ve picked ourselves up from the ashes and reinvented ourselves over and over again. We are real-life superheroes that often don’t get recognized unless we are saving someone else and then it’s often forgotten.
If you meet a survivor, that superhero in disguise, take note, they are people of resilience. You won’t kill them with your toxic traits, you’re not the first to be toxic in their life and you probably won’t be the last. Broken promises? They have cut their teeth on broken promises. It’s why they don’t believe most people most of the time. They’ve built walls to protect themselves from pain. Indescribable pain that often cannot be cured.
But because of their wounds, battlefield scars, and the medals that hang around their necks, they are helpers, protectors, and healers. They may not be great at helping, protecting, and healing themselves but they are experts with others. They know how to pick people up from the gutters of death and breathe life into them. They know how to protect those without a voice. They are natural-born healers to almost everyone they meet.
If you know a survivor that real-life superhero, let them know you recognize them. Appreciate and applaud their strengths! Celebrate them for their boundaries and for removing toxic folks in their life, even blood relatives. Give them love, kindness, and compassion because those are their favorite gifts. Let them know you’re thankful for their survival skills and happy they made it out alive. Go on tell yourself superhero!
Dealing to Healing 