Moving forward after hitting the lowest point in your life

June 16, 2021

You’ve just experienced something life changing. Maybe it’s a loss. Maybe you lost someone you cared for deeply or maybe you lost yourself. Maybe life threw you into a situation you never expected to be in and now you’re a completely different person. Maybe you look different physically, maybe you’re different spiritually and emotionally.

The world kept on going while you were fighting your battle. Now that your battle is won (and hopefully over) you are not the same person as you were before.  

So how do you navigate that? How do you move forward after experiencing something that changed your life so much? Picking up the pieces isn’t easy.

Let me tell you, battling cancer was never something I could have imagined myself going through, let alone at such a young age.

The truth is there is that there is no universal solution for this. Our stories, our lives, and our experiences are all so unique. The same goes for how we will overcome the lowest points of our lives – it’s different for everyone.

What I may say in the post may help you or it may not, but I truly believe in the power of hearing someone else’s success story.

 Deal with your trauma in a way that works for you

If there is one thing that you take away from reading this today, let it be this: keeping everything inside is not healthy.

 What you have gone through or are going through is heavy. No matter what you may think or feel in this moment, your thoughts, your emotions and your experiences are valid. But in saying that, it is so important to deal with all of that in a healthy way. 

I can’t tell you how to do this, but here are a few ways I dealt with my trauma:

I found my outlet. Creating my YouTube videos and Instagram posts helped me just as much as it helped others. My outlet to dealing with my situation was to find a way to express myself. I found something that I was able to focus my mind on, all while processing what I was going through and better understanding myself. I was able to share my personal experience with others and was blessed with the wonderful support from my community. 

What is your outlet? What is your way of expressing yourself? Is it writing? Drawing?Creating? Rapping? Use that as your outlet. Remember, no one has to see it, but getting your thoughts and feelings out of your system helps tremendously.  

Movement. Physical movement, whether it was a full-on workout or a long walk, is essential for me when I need to clear my mind. It’s on my worse days, when I don’t even want to think about moving my body, that I know that I need it the most. Working out not only allowed me to feel better emotionally, but feeling my body get stronger helped me feel better physically as well.

‍Therapy. Therapy is not for everyone, but I do think that everyone should at least give it a chance. Having a neutral third party to talk to and work out those deep deep issues can truly help you move forward in life. Speaking with a therapist also provides you with a safe space to talk about those topics that you may not be able to discuss with those who are close to you. I owe a lot to my therapist and truly wish that I had his help from the very beginning.

Mindset is a choice

That is a hard pill to swallow and something that may seem crazy right now. Consciously choosing to have a positive mindset is very hard at first, especially during your lowest point, but at the end of the day, it is a choice that we can make.

 This was the choice that I decided to make while undergoing treatment for my cancer and it saved my life. This turned the hardest year of my life into one of the best years of my life.

I am not a positive person 100% of the time – that’s impossible. I have my bad days too –heck, I have bad weeks. But, at the end of it all, I am very grateful for everything that I have, for everything that I have learned, and that I am here today.

It is very easy to allow things to bring us down – small or big. When you consciously choose to have a more positive mindset, the minor inconveniences suddenly don’t seem so bad and you begin to handle situations much differently than you did before.

Becoming a more positive person has allowed me to become a much happier person, which has completely transformed my life.

Embrace the new you

 You are a changed person. Embrace that. Explore that. Allow yourself to fully live as this new person.

My hardships taught me a lot. One of the most important things that it taught me is that life is short and I deserve to do what makes me happy.

Once again, this is something that is so unique to each and every one of us. Maybe your experience made your more brave and bold; maybe it made your more cautious of who you surround yourself with; maybe it made you more aware of what is worth chasing in life.

This version of Mags (the post-cancer Mags, I guess) is a much different person. I would like to think that I am a much stronger, wiser, and happier version of myself now, but I didn’t get there overnight. This took a lot of inner work and time.

 Even if you’re not exactly sure who this new version of you is, allow yourself the patience and grace to grow into this person.

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‍Lastly, baby steps.

Getting on with life after hitting your lowest point is not a straight and easy path. Be patient with yourself. You may still have work to do and that’s okay. Day by day. 

Although this maybe hard to read right now, please take what you need from this and leave what you don’t. Sending you lots of love.

Know yourself, know your body & until next time!

Mags

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