The Truth About Inner-Strength

There seems to be a stigma that in order to have inner-strength you must not show your emotions. Those who cry are deemed as weak. You just have to deal with the situation and not let it get to you. You don't cry, you don't look back, you just continue forward with your head held high.

I used to think this was inner-strength as well. I thought the best way to deal with death, family illness, depression, & anxiety was to isolate myself, push through it and to not let anyone see me cry.

Despite my best efforts of hiding my emotions, everyone could tell that there was something wrong with me and it only made me feel worse. I would put on my armor and would fight off emotion, vulnerability, love and help. I became emotionless and found no joy in life.

I eventually, blew up like an emotional soda can that had been shaken up. Several months of burying my emotions came out. Everything rushed to the surface more painful than ever. After I had finally expressed this to the people I loved the most, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

The only thing my "strength" (hiding my emotions and pressing forward) seemed to do was keeping me from healing and moving forward.

Inner-strength is letting yourself feel your emotions, allowing time to heal, giving into love and then living your life fully. Inner-Strength is knowing that you will get hurt in life and deciding to live it fully anyways; full in emotion, adventure and passion.

When someone you love dies, you don't have to "just get through it," or "try to be strong." Your strength comes from your emotions; the love that you have for that person. It's okay to cry, it's okay to feel sad. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. When they say, "They wouldn't want you to cry. They are in a better place." You can say, "I will cry. I will mourn. And then I will heal."

Mourning is a part of self-care. It allows you to process what has happened, how you feel about it, reminiscing, going through moments of laughter and moments of crying, thinking about how you will move forward and then doing it. If you skip to the last part, one day you will break down and it will be much harder to pick yourself back up.

Inner-Strength is being open and honest with yourself. It is being vulnerable. It is taking off your armor, putting the sword down and being swallowed whole by love. Once you let the emotions out and the love in, you can move forward.

Inner-Strength is hope. Hope for bright days again to shine upon you. Hope to cherish each moment when happiness is at its greatest. Hope that even when the dark days become memories, you will have grown from them and become a greater version of yourself.

My friends, you are strong no matter what anyone says. You are allowing yourself to heal and that is the best self-care of all. Knowing what you need and taking care of that need is extremely important. I know how hard it can be to open yourself up and let love in but when we do, it allows us to not only heal but to also grow. That is inner-strength.