âLife shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.â
â AnaĂŻs Nin
This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that Iâve safely landed at the start of my new life. Itâs honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think itâs important to share.
Iâve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, weâd have been together for 11 years, and weâve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with peopleâto rediscover my voice.
I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. Heâs been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. Iâve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see.
Iâve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitelyâbut someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial and logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and itâs going to be tough for a while but Iâm going to be better than okay!
Now Iâm opening up to you. This isnât the only abuse Iâve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible.
I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolationâand breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom.
Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me đ