A Place of Her Own

in #life8 years ago (edited)

For the last few months I have been working to extricate my life from that of an abuser. We were very close. I am well-versed in the signs of mental instability and codependent behaviors, but for whatever reason, I ignored them. What grew was a relationship based on sickness. I was idolized and villainized simultaneously. I thought I could maintain boundaries even though every one was mowed down over and over.

It is a mess, trying to remove someone from your daily life both on and offline. I've been grinding my teeth, experiencing flashbacks and nightmares. I want it to be over. That elusive "clean break" where you can block a person's access to you in every realm and walk away feeling safe? It doesn't exist.

It's like cleaning up after a hurricane. Years later you are uncovering lost treasures in the dirt one mile away when you thought everything dear to you was long since wound in tight. At the moment I am expanding my personal brand. I have refused to put my dreams on pause even though this individual thinks we may still be friends.


I seek isolation on my own terms.

The worst part is the love. You don't simply stop feeling it. I want to be able to forgive and move on. I see there is no way to do it safely. I have been taking a step further into my own life at a time, leaving spikes behind me to slow them catching up and clinging. I have assumed a new identity, for crying out loud, to be able to process this experience and every other abusive experience it brought to the forefront of my mind.

What I am learning is my own strength. I am knee-deep in this perpetual plague and still moving. Despite that this person is so practiced they have managed to create a backstory for us that is publicly accepted as true despite that it is false. They told me that wanted to be me. I believe them. I think they hate me as much as they admire me. It's a scary place to be. But despite it all, I am still trekking forward. I won't be delayed.

In this escape, it turns out I am my own hero.

I will find that place that is just mine. I am going to build something brilliant and beautiful. I will do this because I am listening to myself, paying attention to the signs, and believing that I am capable of so much more than being an emotional whipping boy for a person whose life is genuinely in shambles, but through no fault of my own.

Images via pixabay.com

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I love this. What a strong manifesto--"I am going to build something brilliant and beautiful." We are on such similar journeys and your words are such a comfort.

Ahhh @florentina. Thank you. I'm happy neither of us needs to be alone in the journey.

I wish you the best of luck! It is really great and empowering to start living your own life.

Thank you! I appreciate it!

Believing you is the greatest superpower. In us we have greatness, I applaud you for taking the stand and doing the world out there a favor and believing in yourself. Along this journey you on, embrace the sunlight, feel the warmth and hug its beauty with both arms, for you are a super women.

<3 What an amazing comment! Thank you.

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