I wanna talk about something I struggled with for a while, healing my nervous system after being in an abusive relationship.
I used to see myself through the lens that they created of me, the lens that made me believe that it was my fault, that i deserved it all. I saw myself through the girl my abusive ex partner @elliesspacewalker cheated on me with, through starving myself, isolating myself, harming myself, and drowning myself in substance abuse. I was told that I was cheated on because I deserved it and that it was my fault. For a long time I believed that.
I never thought I could leave because I thought I was in love, and I was constantly made to feel responsible for their mental state and their actions. They encouraged my relapses, constantly stalked my location, and would barely let me be off call without making me feel guilty or worried for their safety. They constantly crossed my boundaries, and even when I used the safeword, they still sent explicit images and videos anyway. I felt trapped, and I convinced myself that staying meant I was loving them correctly.
But I just want to say this as clearly as possible. The bad things people choose to do to you are not your fault. Being manipulated, cheated on, violated, or emotionally destroyed does not mean you deserved it. You are not selfish or cruel for choosing yourself when someone else keeps choosing to hurt you.
I’m healing now, and even though it has taken a long time, I’m finally starting to understand that I deserve gentleness and to feel safe in my relationships. I deserve a love that doesn’t destroy me in the process.
Please leave the relationship that keeps hurting you. I know it feels impossible while you’re in it, and I know how badly you want to believe things will change, but life genuinely gets so much better afterwards. The person who repeatedly hurts you for their own selfishness and ego is not your soulmate. There is so much peace, love, and happiness waiting for you outside of that pain. Yes, healing is messy, scary and unfamiliar but it’s so worth it.
My story continues to be met with terrible attempts at manipulation but im not gonna continue letting myself be bullied in the background anymore. I have far more screenshots if anyone wants them