“My daughter head-slammed to the ground. It happened when I was in the deepest pain of my life, betrayed and hurt by the one person I thought I could count on after my husband died. I panicked.”
‘Suck it up. You’re fine.’ She took a bad fall. I was too traumatized to step foot in a hospital.’: Young widow has realization about ‘grief management’ after daughter crashes bike
‘I’m still forced to see him at court proceedings. I want to run so far away from him. My whole body hurts.’: Narcissistic abuse survivor says ‘there is absolutely nothing romantic about abuse’
“’Come on, it wasn’t all bad.’ I agonized over every detail of our relationship trying to make sense of it all. I cried. A lot. Just because things seemed good, doesn’t mean they ever really were.”
‘I’ll have her taken away from you.’ He played dad to a child who watched hers die months prior.’: Mom and daughter survive narcissistic abuse, ‘She was his victim, too’
“This was not, ‘Hey this isn’t working for me anymore. I hope we can still be friends.’ I found out he cheated on me, took my money, sold me a car he had pawned the title to. ‘I’ll have her taken away from you if you’re not careful.’”
‘My husband died on a Saturday. Monday, we planned the funeral. Thursday, I started a new job. I thought if I stayed busy, it would fix the brokenness.’: Woman urges self care for fellow widows, ‘It’s a daily battle’
“What no one prepares you for is what happens after the last sympathy card is opened and people have moved on. I stuffed away every bad feeling. I am a broken person trying to piece my life back together.”
‘I took my baby home to die. ‘There’s nothing more we can do.’ We were on our own.’: Single mom loses son to epilepsy, hydrocephaly, ‘I am brokenhearted that he’s not with me, but I am at peace’
“His body was saying, ‘This is too much. I can’t fight anymore.’”
‘My little sister came into my room bawling her eyes out. ‘Something is wrong in Mommy’s room. I heard screaming, a thud, and then nothing.’: Son reflects on mother’s domestic abuse ordeal, ‘No matter what demons you’re battling, you can overcome’
“Jay was a youth minister who had a church in my hometown. Everyone loved him. The only thing I heard was, ‘Don’t ever accuse me of anything ever again.’ I called the cops and grabbed my baseball bat. My shirt was soaked with my sweat and blood.”
‘I wanted it. It was my fault.’ I didn’t report the crime because no one would believe a schizophrenic.’: Woman with schizophrenia overcomes abuse, finds soulmate, ‘Everyone deserves love and beauty in their lives’
“It started with neglect and evolved into mental, emotional, and physical abuse. I endured this silently, for I thought it was what I was destined for. All the while, I was hearing voices and believing I was seeing dead people. My husband went along with my delusions. I truly thought I was a vampire and he encouraged it.”
‘I know you think he’s going to stop. One day, sweet girl, there won’t be a next time. One day, it will be absolutely too late.’: Abuse survivor urges others to get out, ‘You’re a warrior. I know you can save yourself’
“One day he’ll have you pinned on the floor with all of his weight, smashing your face into the carpet. I know you don’t want to believe it happened at all. I know you wish, with all your heart, things were different. I know you feel worthless. But I also know you can do it. Stop trying to figure it out, stop trying to make a plan and just run.”
‘Something hard cracked over the back of my head. I could feel his fingers on my neck, checking for a pulse to see if he’d just committed murder.’: After surviving domestic abuse woman says ‘don’t stand by in silence’
“I woke up that morning and I just felt this bad feeling. I felt a searing pain. I remember dropping to my knees, the cat taking off, and my bag going flying. As darkness was taking over, I felt my body being flipped around. The last thing I saw before everything went black were C’s eyes looking down at me. It was my own personal horror story.”
‘I was 18 and so woven into the mind games I thought was ‘love.’ I couldn’t let go, no matter what I was put through.’: Woman emphasizes importance of self-love after abuse, ‘Learn to give yourself space to grow’
“I entered into the real world of adulthood without the slightest clue of what a healthy relationship looked or felt like. I was searching for that love I could create a life and family with, to make up for the experience I never had as a child. The first bite, that first taste. I all but derailed my entire life in my naivety.”
