For years, survival was all I knew. Waking up, getting through the day, trying to hold it all together. Survival mode kept me alive, but it also kept me small.

As this series comes to an end, I want to pause and honor the journey we’ve walked through together. Life after domestic violence is not a straight line it is a spiral of healing, rediscovery, and growth.

When you’ve been through abuse, love becomes distorted. You get used to chaos being called passion, control being called care, and manipulation being disguised as devotion.

For a long time, silence feels like safety. We learn to keep quiet to survive, to keep the peace, to protect ourselves.

The last part of the blog series empowerment and advocacy, this is amazing part of the journey when survivors turn their pain into purpose.

When you’re in the middle of a toxic, abusive relationship, people often don’t see what’s really happening behind closed doors.

Trust is one of the deepest wounds left behind after domestic violence. It doesn’t just affect how you see other people it often makes you doubt yourself too

When you’ve lived through domestic violence, the word love carries a heavy weight. What should feel safe, nurturing, and uplifting often gets twisted into something toxic. Love becomes tangled with fear, control, and pain.

When you’ve lived through domestic violence, the word love carries a heavy weight. What should feel safe, nurturing, and uplifting often gets twisted into something toxic. Love becomes tangled with fear, control, and pain.

Over the past five weeks, we have walked together through the layered journey of life after domestic violence, Thriving is more than healing it’s stepping into a life where you no longer define yourself by what you endured. It’s embracing joy without guilt, setting boundaries without fear, and dreaming without limits.

Healing after abuse can feel over whelming. Some days you may even ask yourself where do i even start i know when i started my journey i did not knw were to start.

Anger is often one of the loudest emotions to rise after leaving abuse. It may appear as rage toward the abuser, resentment toward ourselves for “staying so long,” or frustration at a system that failed to protect us.

It can often feel like an internal battle between two forces. On one side, shame can be a relentless critic, whispering reminders of past mistakes and perceived failures. It can hold you back, convincing you that you're not worthy of love or happiness. Shame thrives in silence and secrecy, feeding on self-doubt and fear.

Walking away from abuse was not the end of the story, it was the first chapter of a new one. Healing is not a switch that flips overnight; it is the slow stitching together of the pieces that were torn apart.

Simple exercise reflection and release, Healing wounds - grief as part of healing.

Grieving is a natural part of healing, a testament to the depth of your emotions and the significance of your experiences.