You Cannot Heal In The Same Environment Where You Got Sick
"You cannot heal in the same environment where you got sick". I recently came across this quote and I felt it in my soul. It resonated with me for two main reasons: I have first-hand accounts of trying to "heal in the same environment", and I have also been outside looking in of situations where people were trying to heal in the same environment where they got sick.
Side story. Recently I went to an urgent care. For those who don't know; urgent care facilities are the step between going to a doctor, and going to a hospital emergency room. This particular urgent care had an area for sick people, which was separate from the area for people who didn't deem themselves sick. Because we are in flu season, when you first walk into this urgent care you have the luxury of a face mask to protect you from viral infections (I believe that's what it's for - science isn't a strong point). At the area with the masks you also have the choice of hand sanitizer and latex gloves. That's a lot of protection for flu and common colds.
If only we protected our mental like we do our physical (and apparently immune systems). In theory, the urgent care was trying to ensure the contagious do not contaminate the "unsick". All interesting things. How often do we detour ourselves of toxic environments PRIOR to them (environments) "infecting" us? Often we lie to ourselves like we all stand clear of toxicity, meanwhile we have all found ourselves in toxic situations. Then once we let that toxic environment drain us, we are stuck trying to heal ourselves in that same environment because we are too deep in the situation.
Environment. What is an environment? For this blog's purpose, an environment is your space (physical or mental). Your environment is what surrounds you. That could be people, situations, relationships, home-life, work-life, etc. Your surroundings often set the tone for your days. An example; if you absolutely hate your job, you're not going to be in a positive headspace the days you work. That's pretty simple to understand. In addition, you are unlikely to heal that distaste you have for your job if you stay at said job because in theory it is said job causing your unhappiness in the first place.
Sick. When sick is used in the quote, I don't think they mean mentally ill. I believe they mean clouded vision, stress, exhaustion, and other mental burdens. Toxic environments exhaust the brain. When the brain is exhausted, it's hard to get anything done.
Obviously the job example is simple, but I am sure everyone has something similar they can replace as a toxic environment instead of a job. I would think the key to healing in these situations is first to remove yourself from your environment since that toxic environment is the same place you “got sick”. This step sounds easier than it is. To know where one got sick, you have to evaluate where things went wrong. Self-evaluations are always hard, but instrumental to personal growth. As I maneuver through adulthood, I find self-evaluations are not as common as one would think. Let's be honest, no one wants to hear they attributed to or put themselves in a toxic environment (regardless if it was subconsciously or knowingly).
I’ve found removing myself from toxic situations and relationships had a direct correlation with my increased levels of happiness. The more positive my atmosphere, the more positive my thoughts become. The more positive my thoughts, the easier my days and more creative I tend to be. And once I am in a creative headspace, I'm pretty unstoppable.