Growth Doesn’t Loop. It Deepens. 🌿

"We do not heal once. We heal in layers. We return to old pain with new wisdom." — Unknown

The first time I thought I “healed,” I expected a clean finish.
Like a badge.
Like a graduation.
Like a chapter closed for good.

“Healing isn't linear. It’s a spiral that deepens with every pass.”

But a few months later, I found myself triggered by the same old thing.
The same wound.
The same fear.
The same ache I swore I’d already processed.

At first, I spiraled in shame.

“Did I fake my growth?”
“Have I made no progress at all?”
“Why am I back here again?”

But I wasn’t back at the beginning.

I was revisiting the wound from a deeper place.
More self-aware.
More resourced.
More honest.

“I thought it was over. It was just intermission.”

Because healing doesn’t work like a ladder. It’s not vertical. It’s not a checklist. It’s not a race to the top.

It’s a spiral.

And every time you revisit an old hurt with new eyes, you don’t regress.

You refine.

You strip another layer of armor.
You recognize the pattern sooner.
You respond with a little more grace.

And eventually, what used to shatter you becomes something you …