Explore articles about self-love in relationships and post-breakup healing. Learn strategies to maintain independence, and regain happiness.
You were never the problem. You were the one who saw the problem. I can still picture one holiday dinner like it was yesterday. My mother was retelling an old story, only she twisted it so the spotlight landed on me. I was labeled “difficult” again. My younger brother shook his head at me, and … Read more
The phrase that was used to silence me was supposed to make me feel safe. It never did. “Blood is thicker than water,” or “Family first.” I hate those words so much. I grew up hearing that line like it was scripture, quoted in family fights and carved into every guilt trip that followed me … Read more
If I had stayed silent, my toxic family would’ve called me loyal. I left, so they called me cruel. The first time I broke the unspoken rules of my family, I thought the ground would swallow me whole. I had done the unthinkable. I told the truth. Not just to myself, but loudly and publicly. … Read more
I used to over-explain everything. That was so tiring, I can tell you that much. I thought if I said it the right way, softer voice, measured tone, fewer words, my family or ex would finally hear me. They didn’t. They just heard vulnerability. And they used it. Narcissists don’t listen to understand. They listen … Read more
The first time I said it out loud, my narcissistic ex’s face froze. For once, he didn’t know what to say, that was awesome, and I didn’t flinch. I dated a narcissist for six months. Not long enough to destroy me, but just enough to make me question everything I thought I knew about love. … Read more
Letting go of my narcissistic family didn’t magically fix everything. I wish it did. It would make things a lot easier for me. But it gave me the space to finally start healing, on my terms. I didn’t walk out of that house and become whole overnight. What happened instead was quieter, slower, but far … Read more
I wasn’t the kind of woman who yelled. I was the kind who explained. Who reasoned. Who cried when reason didn’t work and cried harder when silence did. I rewrote text messages a dozen times to sound “less harsh.” I practiced softness like survival. I wanted to be understood, not feared, and not hated. I … Read more
I didn’t become strong by tolerating less. I became strong by finally refusing more. There was a day I sat on my bathroom floor, knees pulled to my chest, staring at the tiles that had heard more of my truth than any person ever had. That day, something inside me snapped. Not loudly. Not in … Read more
It usually starts with a phone call or a story passed down the grapevine. My mother, teary-eyed, sighing dramatically, telling everyone how I abandoned her. That she “gave me everything,” and now I’m just cold and ungrateful. The first time I heard it, I felt like I’d been punched in the chest. My stomach dropped. … Read more
Some people inherit heirlooms. I inherited responsibility for everyone’s emotional mess. Since I can remember, I wasn’t just a daughter or a sister. I was the fixer. The peacemaker. The shock absorber. While others had space to fall apart, I was expected to hold it all together. Their pain? Handed to me, not with words, … Read more
