When Healing Feels Hard: 5 Ways to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

By Astra Sbizzirri – Inner Balance Dynamics

The Messy Middle Is Real

Healing isn’t linear—and anyone who’s walked the path of recovery from mental health challenges, trauma, addiction, or emotional pain knows the truth of that. Some days feel lighter, full of hope and clarity. Others can feel like quicksand—like all your effort is going nowhere, or worse, like you’re slipping backwards.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the process, unsure if it’s worth it, or tempted to give up entirely—please know this: you are not alone.

As someone who has been in recovery since 2015, I’ve come to understand that the messy middle—that uncomfortable space between who we were and who we’re becoming—is where the real growth happens.

This blog is for you, the warrior in the shadows, still showing up. Here are five soul-nourishing ways to keep going when healing feels hard.

1. Honour the Struggle Without Shame

Healing is hard work, not weakness. The fact that you feel tired or overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’re human. It’s okay to admit that things feel heavy.

Take a breath and validate your experience.

Say to yourself:
🌀 “This is hard, and I am doing my best.”
🌀 “I am allowed to rest, and still be healing.”

Self-compassion is not optional—it’s your survival gear.

2. Anchor into a Tiny Daily Ritual

When everything feels too much, shrink the scale. Instead of forcing big shifts, return to one grounding practice you can do each day—even if it’s just five minutes.

Here are a few gentle options:
– A slow cup of tea while sitting in silence
– Stepping outside to feel the sun or wind on your face
– Writing one sentence in your journal: “Today I choose to stay.”

Tiny rituals can remind your nervous system that safety and connection still exist.

3. Reconnect with Your “Why”

In the darkest times, it’s easy to forget why you began this journey. Try to remember:
– Who are you healing for?
– What part of your future self are you protecting today?
– What does freedom feel like for you?

Write your “why” somewhere you can see it—a mirror, a journal, or your phone screen. Let it be your lighthouse.

4. Lean into Safe Support (Even When You Feel Like Hiding)

One of the hardest things to do when you’re hurting is reach out. But isolation only deepens the pain. You don’t have to find the perfect words—just a gentle check-in with a trusted person can shift everything.

Say:
💬 “I’m having a hard day and just needed to hear a kind voice.”
💬 “Can we sit together without fixing anything?”

Support doesn’t mean someone saves you—it means you’re seen and heard, and that matters.

5. Remember: It’s a Spiral, Not a Straight Line

You may revisit pain you thought you’d healed. You may have to re-learn lessons. That doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning.

Growth is a spiral—you’re deepening, not failing.
Each return is an opportunity to meet yourself with more wisdom, more grace, and more strength.

You are not broken—you are becoming.

Final Words: Stay with Yourself

Healing asks everything of us—but it gives us back our true selves.

If you’re in the thick of it right now, please don’t give up. Take one breath. Do one gentle thing. Call one safe person. Rest. Cry. Laugh if you can. But stay with yourself.

Because on the other side of this storm is you—whole, radiant, and free.

And I promise, you’re worth waiting for.