You can’t heal in the same environment where you got sick.
This is 100% true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Three months ago, my Mom was in one of the darkest places of her life, and you could see it written across her face. It was devastating to witness.
Today, she’s a different person entirely, almost unrecognisable from then. It’s incredible, and it proves how accurate that quote really is.
She needed to be removed from the environment she was in—one steeped in sickness and devastation. I helped her with that transition, and I feel overwhelmed with emotion thinking about what could have happened otherwise.
There was no way she would have healed had she stayed. She was set up to fail if that’s what she chose. But instead, she decided to trust me and a path of recovery.
I’m grateful for this outcome. I’m thankful for the resilience that helped me navigate this journey alongside her.
It feels like a lifetime has passed since we began walking this road together.
Yet sometimes, my body still holds the memory of that darkness—the weight of watching someone you love disappear before your eyes, the fear that healing might not be possible.
These echoes remind me that while environments can change quickly, the imprint of trauma takes longer to fade.
But here’s what I’ve learned: just as toxic environments can make us sick, healing environments don’t just restore us; they teach us what’s possible.
My mother’s transformation isn’t just her victory; it’s proof that we can all step out of spaces that diminish us and into ones that help us remember who we really are.
