Understanding the Aftermath and Allowing Yourself Time to Heal

The pressure to return to normalcy after major life events can be unbearable.
This struggle is beautifully captured by Justine Zwerling, who serves as a reminder that we cannot just go back to our old habits as though nothing had happened.
People around us may put a lot of pressure on us to perform as they did a few weeks ago.
But it takes time for our bodies, minds, and souls to adapt and recover.
We must acknowledge the necessity of a gradual transition, just as a car cannot stop suddenly from high speeds without repercussions.
We might feel a variety of emotions and bodily sensations over the next few weeks, including exhaustion, melancholy, agitation, and a sense of detachment from reality.
Zwerling encourages us to practice self-compassion during this time.

You can’t truly return to routine all at once.

Everyone expects you to be the person you were two weeks ago, to function as if nothing happened. Don’t even try.

Your body, mind, and soul are not capable of it—just like a car can’t stop from 180 km/h to zero without some stopping distance, and if you slam the brakes too hard, there’s an internal recoil that can really hurt.

That’s what you’re likely to feel in the coming weeks—internal recoil. You will feel tired. You’ll feel sad. Your body will ache in different places. You might suddenly get sick. You’ll function, but less. You’ll do things, but without motivation.
You’ll sleep and still feel tired—or you won’t be able to fall asleep and won’t understand why. You’ll struggle to let go of control. You’ll cry for no reason. You’ll get irritated out of proportion.
Above all, you’ll feel like reality is shifting around you and no one else understands.

This is natural. And you’re not alone. We’re all in the same boat.

The right thing to do is to adopt an attitude of self-compassion, release all expectations, declare that you’ll only do what you can, and love yourself through every fall.

Give yourself the time and space to heal from everything we’ve been through. And knowing our precious hostages and soldiers are out there 🎗️🌳🪖🇮🇱

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