Survivors who struggle with complex post-traumatic stress disorder often fight feelings of being inferior or not good enough. We focus so much on our downfalls and mistakes that we lose sight of the good things we do and the positive traits we bear.

In this piece, we shall examine what it is that makes a person good enough.

Why Don’t We Feel Good Enough?

Many times, the reason we spend so much time feeling not good enough is that we have so much negative self-talk going on in our minds.

Not only does our inner critic put us down, but it also replays the messages we heard during the trauma we survived. If we were told we were ugly, we internalized those words and thus began to believe that we were unattractive and not good enough.

To counteract the inner critic’s repeating negative messages to us over and over again, we need to do is go to war.

The first battle is to rid the inner critic of the power it has over how we see the good we have done and our successes. The inner critic would have us believe that they are puny or not essential, but by taking a long, hard look at them, we can realize that we have done some incredible things in our short time here.

The next battle will be to end the ruminating thoughts that enslave your mind. Thinking over an action for a time is healthy and normal but ruminating over it, beating yourself up for a mistake in judgment or a public error isn’t. We need to remove the ammunition from the inner critic by stopping our ruminating thoughts and replacing them with solid positive ones of hope and compassion for ourselves.

The last battle entails balancing your acceptance of yourself with self-improvement. It is good to accept yourself as you are, but it needs to be offset by increasing your drive and chances to improve who you are as a person. The inner critic has no ammunition to defeat self-improvement and self-acceptance. His voice will quiet, and he will lose the war for your peace.

What Does Good Enough Mean?

Being good enough means a lot of different things. In fact, there are almost as many definitions of good enough as there are people on planet earth. However, we can explore some of the most basic and unchangeable of what makes a person good enough.

Being good enough means you were made to be you, as you are, on purpose.

There has been no mistake; you are the person you are on purpose and put in this place at this time on purpose. You belong here on this planet and have a place here whether you feel that way or not.

You cannot escape the human condition, and you should not want to, for it is beautiful in all its complexity. There is loveliness in brokenness and in how you live your life every day. Even your struggles are stunning in their gorgeousness because only those who are genuinely alive do battle with life.

Between the sorrowful days, there are bright and sunny days where you can shine in your uniqueness, offering your presence to a lonely world. You are needed, you are vital, you are a binding force on planet earth.

How Do We Become Good Enough?

Now that’s a brilliant question. How do we change ourselves so that we are absolutely good enough?

First of all, we need to conquer our fear and believe in ourselves. Often survivors will undervalue their worth to the world, thinking they have nothing good to contribute, but that is not true. Like you and me, all Survivors are much needed in the world to add our voices and bring sanity to the insanity around us.

Second, we must begin to accept that we are beautiful people inside and out. With all our injuries, scars, and imperfections, we are lovely people who deserve compassion and love. This quote by an unknown author states it well, “Oh, my darling, it’s true. Beautiful things have dents and scratches too.”

Third, we become good enough when we look in the mirror and see ourselves as we indeed are without flinching away. That image looking back at you isn’t a monster from the pits of hell, it is you, and you are wonderfully and mysteriously made, to quote the Bible. There is nothing about you that isn’t special and unique, and that in and of itself makes you enough.

You Are Already Good Enough

There is no need to remake who you are as a person, no need to conform to someone else’s definition of good enough.

You don’t need to lose weight

You don’t need to get a different hair cut

You don’t need to buy the right car or motorbike

You don’t need to run with the right crowd

You don’t need to earn more money

You don’t need fame

You don’t need a college degree

You don’t need a high-status job

You are good enough just as you are if you are:

A mess

A jumble

Someone who cries into their pillow at night

Someone who embarrassed themselves at work

A person who lost their way in substance abuse

A parent questioning their every decision

Someone who loves their children

Just because you are you

You are good enough because you can grow and change.

You are good enough because you continue to fight and to become

You are good enough because you are not trying to prove yourself to anyone

Nor do you need to.

You are a fragile, wonderful, imperfect human being, and that, my friends, is enough.

“At the end of the day, darling, you are enough. You always have been. It may have taken you a while to see that and to finally reach this place, but you have always been enough.” ~ Lacey Ramburger

“Our world needs you right now; don’t take your life. You matter you are enough, and you are more.” ~ Olawale Daniel

“Sometimes it takes getting pushed to the very edge before you can find your voice and courage to speak out again. Sometimes it takes hitting that rock bottom to realize you’re done descending, and it’s time to rise. Sometimes it takes being told you’re nothing—being made to feel like you’re nothing—to help you see that you are complete. YOU. ARE. ENOUGH.” ~ Mandy Hale

If you a survivor or someone who loves a survivor and cannot find a therapist who treats complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, contact CPTSD Foundation. We have a staff of volunteers who have been compiling a list of providers who treat CPTSD. They would be happy to give you more ideas about where to look for and find a therapist to help you. Go to the contact us page and send us a note stating you need help, and our staff will respond quickly to your request.

Are you a therapist who treats CPTSD? Please, consider dropping us a line to add you to our growing list of providers. You would get aid in finding clients, and you would be helping someone find the peace they deserve. Go to the contact us page and send us a note, and our staff will respond quickly.

Shortly, CPTSD Foundation will have compiled a long list of providers who treat complex post-traumatic stress disorder. When it becomes available, we will be putting it on our website www.CPTSDFoundation.org.

Make sure to visit us and sign up for our weekly newsletter to help keep you informed on treatment options and much more for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you or a loved one live in the despair and isolation that comes with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, please, come to us for help. CPTSD Foundation offers a wide range of services, including:

• Daily Calls
• The Healing Book Club
• Support Groups
• Our Blog
• The Trauma-Informed Newsletter
• Daily Encouragement Texts

Free Winter Holiday Support 2020

60 Days of CPTSD Strategies 

One email a day to help you through the holidays!

• Does the thought of the upcoming holiday season cause you anxiety?
• Could you use some help with healthy boundaries, self-care, and making your healing a priority, amidst the chaos?
• Maybe you could just use some extra encouragement during the upcoming holiday season?
• Would a single email per day containing a video, audio, inspiring quote, or encouraging thought, be something you would find helpful?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, why not join us for Winter Holiday Support?

The Healing Book Club

Today, CPTSD Foundation would like to invite you to our healing book club, reading a new book that began in September. The title of the latest featured book is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

Led by Sabra Cain, the healing book club is only $7 per month, the fee going towards scholarships for those who cannot afford access to materials offered by CPTSD Foundation.

Should you decide to join the Healing Book Club, please purchase your books through our Amazon link to help us help you.

All our services are reasonably priced, and some are even free. So, to gain more insight into how complex post-traumatic stress disorder is altering your life and how you can overcome it, sign-up; we will be glad to help you.  If you cannot afford to pay, go to www.cptsdfoundation.org/scholarship to apply for aid. We only wish to serve you.

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Shirley Davis

My name is Shirley Davis and I am a freelance writer with over 40-years- experience writing short stories and poetry. Living as I do among the corn and bean fields of Illinois (USA), working from home using the Internet has become the best way to communicate with the world. My interests are wide and varied. I love any kind of science and read several research papers per week to satisfy my curiosity. I have earned an Associate Degree in Psychology and enjoy writing books on the subjects that most interest me.