TikTok’s “healing era” trend helped me become a better version of myself.
What’s TikTok’s “healing era” all about? The healing era is when someone decides to prioritize themselves, stay away from toxicity, and do introspection through journaling, going to the gym, engaging in fun activities, and doing all they can to develop better life habits.
Last year before the #healingera went viral, I deactivated all my social media accounts. I wanted to focus on myself and eliminate distractions. I started working on projects I had been postponing and was quite productive. However, this did not last long. I started feeling isolated and felt like I did not have the tools to navigate my healing. It was just me getting lost in my thoughts.
Later, I decided to go back and re-activate my accounts. I downloaded TikTok again, and since I was searching for self-love quotes all the time, the algorithm started bombarding me with “healing era” videos. I discovered that an entire group of people in this world are going through exactly what I am going through. Knowing that you’re not alone is comforting.
After watching tons of those videos, I became inspired and hopeful. I started seeing progress in those young women’s lives, which motivated me to work on myself. I started journaling and took a boxing class, and as hard as it once felt, I started taking myself on dates without feeling lonely.
For the longest time, I thought choosing myself and prioritizing my mental health was selfish. It took learning from other people’s journeys worldwide to realize that choosing yourself is self-love and self-care, not selfishness.
After the healing era, women enter their villain era, another TikTok trend. Despite the name, the villain era is not about being mean or hurting others. The villain era is when a woman sets boundaries, stops being a people-pleaser and continues to choose herself unapologetically.
In the #villainera, you often see before and after videos of how a woman who was once broken and crying turns into a confident woman who is unshakeable. I find the villain era trend to be empowering because it motivates those going through their healing era and shows them what’s waiting at the end of the tunnel.
As much as I despise TikTok for making me doom scroll, I am still thankful for the app and those creators for teaching me ways to love myself and to not give up in the middle of my healing journey. The ‘healing era’ trend taught me how to be gentle with myself, and the ‘villain era’ trend has helped me visualize the version of myself I want to become.
Regardless of any TikTok trend, healing is a long process, and we should not rush through it. There is no deadline for when the healing era has to stop and the villain era must begin. We should take things slow and not be hard on ourselves if our healing takes longer than people online. We all have our pace, and eventually, we can all get there.
