If you have not already read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7, Part 8 of this series, please do so to understand the context of Part 7. Thank you.
Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live my friend. I am happy to see that you decided to stop by to visit with me. I am honored by your presence. For many years — as an individual living with a brain injury and an invisible disability – I found myself being misunderstood, maligned and manipulated because I was unable to accept my reality. In turn, I internalized the contempt that was shown toward me by the people who misunderstood and maligned who I was as an individual.
As I shared in the previous parts of this series, I have learned several important lessons through my experience. Through confronting my denial, grieving my reality and by learning to accept myself in my reality, I have been able to stop fighting against myself. By learning to accept myself in my reality I have been able to stop struggling to be some one who I am not – an individual who is not living with a brain injury and an invisible disability with limitations.
By learning to accept who I am – not someone who I am not — I have been able to change the way in which I interact with individuals who show that they are unable to accept who I am in my reality. By accepting who I am in my reality and that there are people who can not accept who I am in my reality, I have been able to change my focus. Instead of seeking approval and validation — from people who are unable or unwilling for what ever reason — I have been able to…
keep the focus on myself and stop going to hardware stores looking to find bread. I have been able to practice the principle of live and let live and I have been able to move on with my life — because I “get it”.
Please read Part 8 for context. Thank you.
If you have not already read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 of this series, please do so to understand the context of Part 8. Thank you.
Here is my Contact Page
Receive more articles like this one simply by clicking on Subscribe to Second Chance to Live by email.
Bookmark and Share Second Chance to Live with your friends through a Feed Reader
All material presented on Second Chance to Live is copyright and cannot be copied, reproduced, or distributed in any way without the express, written consent of Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA
