Trauma Recovery Quotes

“Early on, it became apparent to me that the unhealed soul walks around leaking onto anyone standing in the way.”
― Octavia Yvonne Webb, Mixed Bloodline: The story of a young biracial boy overcoming racism growing up in the South doing the 1930's Jim Crow Era

“The internal system of an abuse victim differs from the non-abuse system with regard to the consistent absence of the effective leadership, the extreme rules under which the parts function, and the absenve of any consistent balance or harmony. Typically, the parts operate around outdated assumptions and beliefs derived from the childhood abuse, believing, for example, that it is still extremely dangerous to reveal secrets about childhood experiences which were endured.”
― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

“Some days I survive by accident, not hope. The pain never stops—it just changes costume. And still, somewhere in the static, there’s a flicker of magic: not in healing, but in enduring. That’s the human condition—staying alive with no good reason, except that part of you refuses to vanish quietly.”
― Jonathan Harnisch, Sex, Drugs, and Schizophrenia

“Some wounds don’t bleed. They linger in silence, waiting to be seen and named.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“The hardest part wasn’t surviving the past—it was learning to believe I deserved peace in the present.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“When your voice has been silenced for so long, speaking your truth feels like rebellion—and healing all at once.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“It’s going to be hard, I’ll tell you that from the start. However hard you think it’s going to be, I promise you it’ll be worse. And you’re going to think you have to do it alone – but you don’t, and you can’t. People will want to help you. People will want to be there when you’re ready for them. You might not find them right away, but you’ll find them.

Wherever you are on that path, wherever you’re headed, just remember that you won’t be walking it forever. And those first steps – first loves, first heartaches, first mistakes, whatever – they don’t have to define all the years of your life. A day will come when you can let it go. You might not think so now, but that day will come. Doesn’t mean you don’t still carry a part of it with you, but you’re going to wake up one day and realize it’s lighter. That day will come, whatever you’re carrying.”
― Mia_ugly, Slow Show

“Revenge fantasies can be beneficial in trauma recovery. They bring significant catharsis and reestablish a sense of empowerment after one has been made to feel powerless.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“We cannot separate forgiveness and social inequality in trauma recovery as forgiveness, trauma, and recovery always occur in a social and political context – one that is fraught with inequality.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Forgiveness should be considered an elective option – not a requirement – in trauma recovery.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Forgiveness is not a panacea. It does not make trauma disappear, nor does it heal all emotional wounds.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Anger is vital in trauma recovery. It starts by shielding us from those frightening, overwhelming, and devastating emotions that are waiting for us behind that door. We can hold onto that shield until we feel safe enough to open the door and cross the threshold; then, anger turns from a shield to a key.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Shame is the bane of my existence both as a trauma therapist and as a survivor, as it is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in trauma recovery. It can masquerade as guilt, pessimism, or having a low opinion of yourself, but the reality is that it’s much more damaging and invasive, as shame erodes the fabric of our self-worth and identity.”
― Amanda Ann Gregory, You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms

“Healing isn’t just about tending to old wounds; it’s about reclaiming the life that trauma and illness tried to steal. It’s about proving to myself, and to anyone who has ever felt stuck in survival mode, that we are more than what we’ve endured. I have walked through some of the darkest corners of this world, and I’m still here. And maybe—just maybe—that means I am meant to be the light.”
― Jessica Woodville, Smoking in Garages: A Survivor's Story of Trauma and Resilience

“Invest in yourself to become the best version of you—because your growth is the gateway to your God-given greatness."

— Ms. Alisha Jackson, MSW”
― Alisha Jackson, I AM A DIVINE WARRIOR: A Better Life Starts With You

“Even if no one else shows up, I will.”
― Wynn wilder

“No, kindness does not lift the weight they carry. It cannot mend every fracture. But it lingers—like a lighthouse in fog—steady enough to guide them back to themselves. Toward hope. Toward healing.”
― Ivy J Garmon, The Quiet Current: Stories of Healing, Hope, and Unexpected Grace

“The world folded in on itself - quiet, final & far from me.”
― Jonathan Harnisch, Sex, Drugs, and Schizophrenia

“Pain is my art. Madness is my muse.”
― Jonathan Harnisch, Sex, Drugs, and Schizophrenia

“I’m history’s last fucking joke—burned out in a senior center doing Namaste Yoga while God shows up in a saltine cracker, calls me a coward, and offers me a cigarette. That’s it. That’s the punchline. So fuck your hope, and fuck your healing. I’m already holy. I’m already gone.”
― Jonathan Harnisch, Glad You're Not Me

“I broke the cycle not because I was unbroken—but because I was brave enough to begin.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“I used to think I needed their love to feel whole. Now I know: I only ever needed my own.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“No one taught me how to love myself. I had to learn it in the silence they left behind.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“You can forgive without returning. You can heal without staying. You can love without losing yourself again.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“This is not just a story of survival. It’s the story of becoming who I was always meant to be.”
― R.M. Carter, The Choice to Heal: A Memoir of Breaking the Cycle

“Available only
to souls
who once died inside —
and came back
full of truth.

Not meant
for those still living
for appearances,
approval,
or illusion.

This book
is not just meant
to be read.
It’s meant
to be felt.”
— Phoenix Moon”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Even if you've lost someone along the way, you can still gather the pieces.”
― Lennie Campbell, Gathering The Pieces

“I gathered the courage to enter the room and finally meet the woman who brought me into this world. We are connecting at the end of her life for the first time.”
― Samantha Smiley, The Orphan of Lady Liberty: A Tale of Hope, Betrayal, and Triumph of the Human Spirit

“Hurt people hurt people. By not addressing our pain, we miss the chance to experience God’s healing and love.”
― Kristy Walker Armstrong, Loving God and Yourself: Creating Space to Live in God's Love

“Most of your healing journey
will be about unlearning
the patterns of self-protection
that once kept you safe.”
― Vironika Wilde, Love and Gaslight