incredible-marketing Arrow

“This Is Me” Is The Trauma Anthem You Need

According to Genius Lyrics, “This Is Me” was not originally written as an anthem. Written by the very same talents which curated the words to the songs in the smash hit La La Land, the song was powerful as it was. Speaking with directors, the writers were instructed to put more power behind the song and turn it into an anthem. Tales from the set have it that on the day Keala Settle auditioned the song, Hugh Jackman, the character in the film who first offends Keala’s character “the bearded lady” and the other “freaks” of the Circus was in the room. Knowing the part their characters play in the introduction of this bone-chilling anthem, Settle turned right toward Jackman and sang the song with conviction. Both she and he, and many others present in the room, were moved to tears by her emotion and the power of the song. In this blog, we’ll look at how the chorus speaks to trauma recovery.

When the sharpest words want to cut me down

I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out

I am brave

I am bruised

I am who I’m meant to be

This is me

“When the sharpest words want to cut me down, I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out”

Our trauma may be from words. Emotional and verbal abuse are extremely traumatizing. Our trauma may be from unspoken words, the secrets we were forced to hold. Even if our trauma doesn’t involve words, we have the words needing to be spoken from our souls, the inner narratives which threaten our sense of self, and the harsh tongue of society which criticizes us for struggling with our mental health, blames us through victim-shaming, and bullies us for being survivors. Words are sharp when they come from the inside and the outside.

Through trauma recovery we learn that the words of our healing have equally as great if not greater power than the words of our trauma. Our therapy helps us develop a new narrative in our lives owning where we’ve been, loving ourselves where we are, and building hope for where we are going. Picking up tools of mindfulness, meditation, art therapy, cinema therapy, yoga, positive affirmations, and more, we develop ways to send out a flood of our personal empowerment and drown out the forces which try to bring us down.

“I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be, This is me”

We learn that being brave in overcoming our trauma and being bruised as a result of our trauma do not have to be two mutually exclusive experiences. We are extremely brave for having lived through our trauma, survived it, and taken on the extremely challenging task of trauma recovery. With every passing day we grow stronger and more glorious in our recovery, but our bruises can remain. Inarguably, we are affected by our trauma permanently because it is a part of our lives. However, we aren’t meant to be perpetual victims of trauma, or even survivors of trauma. Our trauma remains a part of our lives but ceases to be the controlling factor of our lives. We are meant to be warriors of recovery, thriving in the life we were meant to live full of health, happiness, and prosperity. This is who we are- brave, bruised, and nothing less than positively beautiful.

Everyone’s story starts before treatment. Everyone’s story changes the minute they arrive to treatment. The Guest House Ocala offers residential programming for trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues, customized to meet your unique needs. Call us today for information on life at the estate: 1-855-483-7800