emotional intelligence
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The Bloodbath of Healing
People don’t understand that healing isn’t a glow-up. It’s a bloodbath. It’s standing in the wreckage of everything you tolerated and realizing the monster wasn’t just him – it was the version of you that stayed. The one who kept… Continue reading
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The Ones Who Stayed When No One Else Did
A haunting reflection on the kind of darkness that doesn’t visit – it becomes you. This piece explores the truth that sometimes our demons aren’t intruders at all, but the guardians that kept us alive when no one else did. Continue reading
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When Distance Was the Only Way I Knew to Stay Safe
You don’t know how often I rehearsed distance in my mind. I told myself what to say if I saw you. I practiced not looking too long, not smiling too much, not letting my voice give anything away. I made… Continue reading
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The Love I Never Said Out Loud
I used to think love had to be loud to count. That it had to come with declarations and certainty and all the things movies make look easy. But what I felt for him never moved like that. It was… Continue reading
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The Ache Beneath the Armor
It’s hard to ask for help when your trauma taught you that needing anything makes you a burden. So I don’t. I keep it in. I figure it out. I carry what’s too heavy because somewhere along the way, I… Continue reading
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He Had the Key. He Just Never Used It
There’s a softness in me he’ll never meet again. Not because it’s gone, not because I’m bitter, but because it was offered once – fully, freely, without hesitation – and he stood in front of it like it was something… Continue reading
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This Is How Soft People Protect Themselves
I learned how to pull back without looking like I was retreating. A small shift in energy, a lighter tone, a well-timed smile that says everything’s fine even when I’m already halfway out the door emotionally. It’s subtle. You wouldn’t… Continue reading
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She Unfolds Where She’s Held, Not Watched
There’s a version of me that only comes out when I feel safe. She’s softer. Quieter. Laughs without scanning the room. Speaks without second-guessing. She doesn’t measure her words or shrink her feelings to fit someone else’s comfort. She doesn’t… Continue reading
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Slowness Is How I Know I’m Safe
I don’t play hard to get. That’s never been my game. I don’t need to be chased or proven right. I just move slowly where I’ve learned to be cautious. When you’ve handed your heart to people who held it… Continue reading
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Too Much for the Wrong Hands
He kept calling me complicated, like it was a flaw I hadn’t yet apologized for. He said it in that tone people use when they’re tired but won’t admit they’re out of depth. The thing is, I’ve been called complicated… Continue reading
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The Vows We Don’t Talk About
No one really talks about what happens after the vows. After the dress is packed away, the champagne glasses are cleared, the photos are posted. We’re sold this picture – glowing rings, perfect captions, the dream of finally being chosen.… Continue reading
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The Softest Revenge Is Becoming Untouchable
He always made sure I knew I didn’t belong. Every dinner with his friends was a reminder. Every joke that landed at my family’s expense, every time he corrected how I spoke or looked at me sideways when I mentioned… Continue reading
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A Version of Me He’ll Never Touch Again
She used to cry in silence, then wipe her face before anyone saw. Now she doesn’t need to hide. The tears taught her things no comfort ever could. She learned how to grieve without breaking, how to burn without turning… Continue reading
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Mercy, Even When You Could Burn It All Down
I remember the rage. How it sat in the corners of the room after he mocked the way my father spoke. How it built in my chest every time he introduced me to his colleagues with that tone that made… Continue reading
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When the Goalpost Keeps Moving
I didn’t recognize it as abuse at first. There were no bruises, no screaming matches, nothing you could point to and say, this is what’s wrong. What there was, instead, was me – exhausted, constantly second-guessing myself, walking on eggshells… Continue reading
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No One Told Me I Could Let Go
It took me years to realize the weight I carried didn’t belong to me. I was just a child trying to hold the cracks together with silence and obedience, hoping love would come if I could make everything feel okay.… Continue reading
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Twelve Years of Disappearing
I thought marriage meant partnership. I believed it was where two people showed up, equally, choosing each other through the hard things. I didn’t know mine would feel more like a stage play I never auditioned for. For twelve years,… Continue reading
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Leaving Was the Most Honest Thing I Did
I didn’t walk away from marriage. I walked away from the version of it where my voice disappeared under his. Where compromise meant silence, and devotion meant disappearing. I used to think staying made me strong. That love was proven… Continue reading
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When the Memories Catch Up
Now that I’m out, I can finally feel it. I used to think leaving would be the hard part, but it turns out feeling safe is what unlocks everything you once had to bury. The body keeps score, and now… Continue reading
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I Was the Punchline
I remember that day like my body remembers danger. I had stopped by the gym before heading to meet my husband and some friends at the park. As I walked out, a man I didn’t know tried to make small… Continue reading
Light Calls To Light 