Updates on My Healing Journey

It’s been just over 4 months since I lost my dog Sawyer. While my healing journey has been a roller coaster, it’s overall tended in a good direction. Here are some updates.

1. Less pain. I still have plenty of pain but I’ve managed to work through a lot of it, including pain from my early years long before I got Sawyer. The more I address the pain burden, the lighter and easier to bear it becomes.
2. Less distrust and hatred of humans. At least the ones who’ve consistently treated me well. Despite still having some hesitation in being around others, most of the interactions I’ve had as of late have gone smoothly.
3. Better boundaries. I’m finding it much easier to say “no” to things I wish to avoid. Spending more time around good people and less time around draining people makes this much easier. I also make sure to take my time to thorougly think things through before committing to a decision, stay quiet in a conversation if I have nothing to say, and leave a situation when I’m ready to go. All those were longstanding struggles for me but lately they’ve been effortless.
4. More courage. This comes in the form of setting boundaries, voicing my needs, avoiding getting dragged around in conversations, and resisting the pressure to respond in a particular way or to speak when I have nothing to say. It also allows me to pursue more of the things I love even if there is some fear attached to them.
5. More/deeper peace. Issues that come up, whether occasionally or regularly, don’t get to me as much as they used to. I’m also able to quickly move through the difficult moments instead of getting stuck in them or dwelling on them endlessly. This has given me more good days and fewer bad days.
6. More stability. I’m less susceptible to the ever-changing tides of life, even when they don’t go my way. In addition, I generally feel ok even when things get rough and recover quickly from difficult experiences.