Step 2 in the 10-step Recovery Program from Narcissistic/Toxic Relationships — Lessons from Tina Turner

I cannot think of a better model to frame healing, perseverance, and triumph over tragedy than our beloved and recently departed Tina Turner. A victim of violent abuse at the hands of her husband, she felt, for 15 years, trapped.

Then one day she walked, bloodied and bruised, through the door with only the clothes on her back. She went on to create her legacy.

If you choose to heal and commit to learning how to live the best version of yourself, opportunities, peace, and joy await. On the flip side, victimhood is the alternative where one is stuck in the loop of pain, forever defined by an ugly snapshot in time.

Use your balled-up anger and rage to fuel your ‘what’s next’. One antidote for victimhood is creativity. Tina Turner said she ‘turned poison into medicine’. Your future can be bigger and brighter than your past.

Instead of suppressing rage, anger, fear, desperation, or sadness, sit with the feelings and allow them a voice. Journal thoughts about a new future, and write snippets of your dreams about a life you deserve.

This is a time of in-between. You are healing from abuse; on the other hand, you are harboring hope and gathering ideas to develop the New You.