Integrating your survival experience into your life in a positive way can take many forms. But many survivors find that these strategies helped them to thrive in their life post-survival: share your experience; find community; give back; and embrace your new life—all while remembering to forgive yourself.
Share Your Experience
One of the best ways people recovered from their survival experience was by sharing their experience. Their experience became not a trauma that had happened to them but a narrative of how they were faced with something crummy and ended up the hero of their own story. This is their way of seeking the “new normal.” It’s natural to look back and wish your life could be like it was before the trauma. You can find freedom in connecting the pieces of what happened to change your life and add meaning to how that change has proven your resilience.
Find Community
Sharing your experience also allows you to find community. Opening up the story of your survival experience then opens the door to people supporting you. By sharing your story you will meet people who have been through similar experiences.
Give Back
Almost every survivor who shares their experiences also seems to become motivated to give back to their community. Nothing puts your own journey into perspective like helping others in need. Giving back takes different forms. Helping others with the wisdom gained in your survival experiences, for example, can become your life mission.
Embrace Your New Life
When everything falls apart, our first instinct is to assume that life as we know it is over. Nothing will ever be the same. Yet, sometimes we are treated to glimpses of our former life.
Fighting for survival and emerging into a new reality can give life new meaning. Life on the other side of survival can be better than the life you had before, even if you have been changed by pain or loss. Admittedly, using the word “better” might be a stretch, but you will learn lessons about yourself and life that are worth having. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even if you have days (or months) (or years) when you can’t see it.
Being a survivor gives you an extra responsibility to live the life you have wanted. You know what it feels like to potentially have everything taken away.