Survivor Needs MEME

Marj at Survivors Can Thrive has created a MEME about what survivors like myself need and want, and she's tagged me! The rules, according to her, are at the end. The point of this MEME is that we learn to take better care of our needs in the coming year. So here goes:

What I Need

• I need good sleep for 8 hours a night. It doesn't come easy, so I need to practice cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes even take anti-anxiety medication.
  
• I need to feel supported and cared for and noticed.
• I need to eat well and avoid triggering foods.
• I need to exercise regularly to relieve stress and release endorphins.
• I need to stay present with my feelings and not try to push them down or avoid them.
• I need to learn how to enjoy the present moment instead of getting lost in memories of the pasts or fears about the future.
• I need to be able to reclaim my sexuality in a healthy way.
• I need to tell people what I want, to surround myself with people who respect my boundaries and give me what I need.
• I need to develop healthy self-esteem.
• I need a community.
• I need to be working to make the world a better place.
• I need to talk about my feelings and experience, to be heard and supported in my quest.
• I need to be free from people who abuse and misuse me.
• I need time to myself, to just be, to snuggle with my dog.
• I need to be believed when I tell my story or tell others what I need.
  

What I Want

• I want chocolate, wine, comfort food.
• I want something to take the pain and suffering away.
• I want lots and lots of good friends.
• I want hot, steamy sex.
• I want to succeed in my career.
• I want a life partner.
• I want a vacation.
• I want a cure for Alzheimer's.
• I want my Mom back.
• I want pictures of my family and from my childhood.
• I want my cousins, Kathy, and *A to start talking to me again.
  
• I want to eliminate sexual violence.
  

Rules of the "Survivor Needs" Meme:

• Please link back to this post so people can see the origins of the meme, get ideas for their own self-care list, see who's already been tagged, and maybe we can track how far this meme goes.
• List 25 needs and five wants. Try to restrict your needs list to things that have to do with being a survivor of some sort of abuse, assault, etc. Your wants list can be anything...you want!
• Use this list to remind yourself to get your needs met this holiday season and in the New Year.
• Pass on the meme and tag people to play the meme with you.
  

Survivors I'm Tagging

• I Survive!
• The Missing Link
• Ani Star
• Leah's Life