Not Every Spiral Means You’re Back at Square One
You ever have one of those days where you're like, Wait a second—I thought I already healed this? Same. It’s one of the most frustrating feelings. You’ve been doing the work. You’ve been journaling, setting boundaries, drinking water (or at least pretending to). You’ve had some real growth. So when an old feeling creeps back in—an insecurity, a fear, a reaction you haven’t seen in a while—it’s easy to panic. Suddenly you’re wondering if any of your progress was even real, or if you’ve just been doing emotional cartwheels in a circle.
Let me tell you something I’ve had to remind myself (more than once): just because you feel something again doesn’t mean you’re back where you started.
Growth is not linear. It never has been. It comes in waves, layers, spirals. You’ll revisit the same themes at different points in your life, not because you failed, but because you’re evolving. You’re hitting it with new tools. A new perspective. A stronger sense of self.
There’s a big difference between repeating something and revisiting it. When you repeat, it’s unconscious. It runs the show. When you revisit, it’s conscious. You notice it. You meet it differently. Even if it hurts. Even if you cry. Even if it looks a little messy. That awareness alone is growth.
I used to think that healing meant I would never have a “bad” day again. Now I understand that healing means I’ll still have bad days—I just won’t abandon myself during them. That’s the shift.
So if you’ve been spiraling a little lately—emotionally, mentally, spiritually—it doesn’t mean you’re broken or weak or back at square one. It just means you’re being human. A very self-aware, growth-minded human who is probably way too hard on themselves.
You don’t lose progress every time you feel pain. You don’t start over just because you stumbled. And you’re not failing because old wounds still sting when they get bumped.
This is what real healing looks like: messy, layered, and beautifully honest. You’re not going in circles—you’re spiraling upward. Same themes, new altitude.
Give yourself some credit. You’re doing better than you think.
