This season

 

4. Perhaps this season requires a different kind of strength.

In survival mode, strength might have meant getting up because you had no other choice.

Right now, strength might mean recognizing that you're depressed, accepting that your capacity is lower, seeking help, and learning to care for yourself without condemning yourself for what you cannot currently do.

That doesn't mean giving up on your dreams or accepting a life you don't want. It means acknowledging where you are while you work toward where you want to be.

And because you've also experienced significant fatigue, it's worth addressing your physical health rather than assuming depression explains everything.

3. You may be expecting your survival self to be your everyday self.

This is the part I especially wanted you to understand.

The version of you who navigated homelessness showed you that you could endure a tremendous amount. But that version of you was responding to circumstances that demanded so much from her.

You may now be looking back at her and thinking, If I could do all that, surely I should be able to handle my life now.

But being able to endure a crisis doesn't mean you'll have unlimited energy afterward. And it doesn't mean you should have to live in crisis mode to function

You can admire the woman who survived without demanding that your present self operate at the same intensity.

You don't need to recreate the conditions that forced you to be that resourceful in order to access your strength.

There's one last thing I want to clarify.

When I said, "You don't have to keep suffering at that level to deserve to feel strong again," I meant that your suffering was never the proof of your strength. Your actions, resourcefulness, and persistence were.

You deserved support when you were homeless. You deserve support now. You were worthy then, and you're worthy now.

You don't have to be at your lowest point to be the woman you admire.

And you don't have to punish yourself for finding this season difficult just because you survived something harder.