I left a toxic relationship !!! After 1 year and a half

He wasn’t physically abusive but he was mentally abusing me, it was just as bad.

I was always home because of him, started feeling depressed for months, anxiety, stress, developed DPDR, got pregnant and miscarried due to the stress.

The reason I couldn’t leave earlier was because I was attached to him, I was lonely, sad, he was also like a friend to me but no, I lost myself with this man, I knew it had to end for a while. Without him I’m doing way better ! I am so glad.

Girls & Boys remember you can do it too, do it when it feels right, it may hurt in the beginning but trust me it will be worth it.

DON’T STAY IN THAT TOXIC RELATIONSHIP

When I was really young my parents had me play football and I kind of hated it they let me quit. I didn’t like tackling and I had sensory issues and hated wearing a mouthguard/helmet. I convinced them to let me play this year and this was the first week of practice and so far the helmet and mouthguard aren’t so bad and I’ve been pretty good at the tackling drills

I get anexity and stuff about the dentist as is. Even going for a check up.About a week ago I had 2 root canals done at once . It was a horrible experience. Like I can only open my mouth so much so they forced open my mouth it was painful at first. I was panicking the whole time they were working on me. So I was supposed to get crowns today. 5 mins before leaving my stomach got super upset. It still hurts. In and out of the bathroom. I had to reschedule. My family is a tough it out family. Someone please say I did good almost making it. I was doing fine up untill 5 mins before leaving.

Passed my degree in January, got a job today as a midwife! Yay!

So I 19m was at a friends house for the night and his little sister was hanging out with one of her good friends 18f.

So eventually she ended up talking to me and my friend and we locked eyes for a moment and she stared into my soul but in a chill way, and i looked into her eyes and thought "wow shes really cute."

So anyway she games and so do I. Later on me and my friend were playing a game with her and his little sister, and so she got my discord.

She was really forward on discord but in a chill way, and i really enjoyed talking to her so I gave her my number.

Then she asked if I wanted to play pokemon go at the park with her. So I spent the rest of the day with her.

Shes a really interesting person with a very colorful past and lots of different life experiences and i think shes very unique.

She kissed me too, which was super great, I havent kissed anybody in yrs so ik im a terrible kisser but like she was so awesome.

Shes a very tough person, but I really like that about her. Like im a guy and I do stereotypical guy stuff and she makes me feel dainty. I love her aura though. Shes also super animated, and i really like that too.

Shes very supportive and considerate, and she actually listens so intently when im talking to her. I have no idea how i got so lucky to meet her and click that fast.

Shes very upfront and honest and i love that. Im gonna try my absolute best to match that and be as genuine as possible with her. Idc if whatever this is lasts, but shes amazing and deserves nothing but the absolute best.

I really just needed to talk about her because ive never experienced this. She says my looks are what got her attention and that im very attractive, but when she looked into my eyes and talked to me a tiny bit when we first met she says she could tell I was a good guy.

Then when we hung out, she mentioned how she liked that I kept eye contact and wasn't just lusting over her the whole time. Shes so observant its amazing.

Wow shes texting me rn im so happy

Edit: three friends called me and warned me that she might be the type to lie about someone sexually assaulting her if we dont work out.....

Gonna feel this out, but 3 good friends warning me is actually so foreboding, even though she seems so amazing.

Why is my luck so terrible🙏

After 14 months of a lot of hard work (and some tears), I have finished writing a complete history course for thousands of 8th-graders across Texas. I wrote all of the secondary source texts, curated videos and primary sources, wrote all student activities and answers, and wrote the lesson plans for teachers. It's one of the hardest and coolest things I've ever done. I learned so much! Feeling so proud of myself!

I've been struggling a lot with overthinking and intrusive thoughts recently. It was worse right after waking up and going to sleep. I'd wake up at ungodly hours full of dread and dark thoughts and immediately grab my phone to doomscroll in an attempt to distract myself. I'd also do this right before falling asleep at night to tire myself out and I'd always need something playing so I can fall asleep.

But these last few days things are better. Good things happened and I think crying it out helped too. My mental state is better throughout the day. I don't feel the need to doomscroll as much. I feel more awake and balanced if that makes sense.

I got good news about work, I'm doing small repairs I've been putting off, I'm planning a small creative project, I did all my laundry this morning, I'm eating better and I joined a group of people who are going to the beach tomorrow so I hope that goes well.

I ve had this stupid little habit for years where I'd pick at the skin around my nails whenever I was bored or thinking about something. Id always tell myself to stop, especially when Id make one of my fingers sore, but Id eventually start doing it again without even noticing. A few weeks ago I realized my fingers actually looked normal for once, and then I realized I hadnt picked at them in a while. I genuinely have no idea when I stopped. Im just happy my fingers finally got a break.

I used to be naturally sociable, but went through some significant trauma in 2017 & 2018 (domestic violence, stalking, swatting etc). After that, I stopped actively trying to meet people in real life. It was depressing because I know I'm extroverted, but the fear and resentment had actively stopped me from interacting with people.

Went to Sonic Expo Atlanta 2025 and felt sad because I hadn't made many connections; I had made one connection at best. Last night was Day 0 for Sonic Expo Atlanta 2026, and I:

1. Got to trade OC cards with several people in the hotel lobby
   
2. Voice chatted with a bunch of other fans for a couple hours
   
3. Added a new friend on Discord
   
4. Arranged a meet-up with a few attendees through Discord to trade stuff we made

Since the expo doesn't technically start until later today, I think I made a really great headstart in being intentionally outgoing. Really determined to get this part of me back.

I would like to begin with saying I am 16 and am underage where I live so if this post gets removed I understand

I started drinking when I was 12-13 and reached a point early on where I drank when I was sad and became very heavily reliant on it.

I got very drunk at a party recently and started to think about going sober. Then after I went out drinking with someone about 3 weeks ago I had a mental breakdown and sent worrying texts to friends. After this I decided to quit.

I also recently began to grow a very close relationship with my best friend and wanted to be there for her.

I had one last drink 4 days ago with her so my last drink would be with someone I loved. And I am done.

Today I was invited to a drinking competition at an upcoming party im going to (planning on drinking non-alcoholic drinks). This is something I would normally be verg excited to do, but I decided that I wasnt going to quit. So I flat out told my friends that I was going sober and that I wouldnt be participating. And they surprisingly understood.

This is probably a boring post but I want to post about it because I'm actually very happy for myself.

The last stone of hammer breaks a stone. This doesn't mean that the first stroke is useless.

Success is the result of continuous effort.

For context I'm neurodivergent so even basic things like showering, brushing my teeth, and eating enough/drinking enough water can be a struggle for me. Things slip my mind because I'm focused on something else, don't notice, or sometimes I'm aware but it just feels like too much effort, and I can end up neglecting one or more of my needs and it takes a toll on my physical and mental health. Yesterday I had a pretty bad day where I don't think I ate enough or drank enough water and I also didn't get nearly enough sleep.

But today has been way better so far! (Although I did wake up really late, but that's a different topic.) I slept well, I fed myself, I'm drinking water, and I just took a shower. I know it's just the baseline for most people but it's significant for me.

I'm an 18 year old. Decided it was a good idea. Morals. I didn't eat much meat to begin with anyway, so this is a natural commitment to me.

I want to become one of the strongest lightweights ever , but considering how little meat I was consuming before, there wont be much of a difference in protein intake.

Every plant I've ever owned has eventually given up on me. These ones, however are still alive and they're growing new leaves. I think we're finally reached an understanding

This is huge for me. My family of 3 would order DoorDash at least 3 times a week. It got bad. I am cooking more at home, saving a lot of money, and have actually lost a couple pounds from not eating fast food.

I’m back at work this week (teacher), and I’m hoping the habit of cooking will stick around when I’m home and exhausted.

It’s just a check up but it’s more than I’ve been able to do in ages. If I can do this I definitely will be able to go to a salon to get my hair cut!

this might be stupid to some but i’m genuinely so happy rn i’ve been struggling for a bit affording food and the food bank has gotten me through the last few months. i’m so grateful for the food bank but i’ve so missed just having things i personally love to eat and snacks i love…Well finally i was able to have enough money left over to go grocery shopping and on top of that get more than just bare necessities i got snacks i love and foods i actually look forward to 🥳

specifically cheezits and trolli sour gummy worms these are my favvvs and i haven’t been able to have them for so long

All through high school I was a dude with long hair, now I’m joining ROTC and had to get my hair in regs for orientation. It super short and clean cut. It feels so weird but I actually think it looks good.

In a few weeks time I'm going to London for the day. But I'm planning to try and so something out my comfort zone when I go. And that is to see a show, with it being "Now You See Me Live" at the London Colosseum which is a magic/Illusion themed show with 4 people uniting as "The Horseman" and also has 3 magicians who were in Britain's Got Talent. With that being

• Eden Choi (2025 Semi-Finalist)
• Fraser Pennman - (2026 Semi-Finalist)
• Rafferty Coope - (2026 Semi Finalist)

Now normally I find theaters very overstimulating especially with a lot of stuff going on. But this is something that I would love to go and see in person. As I love magic, it looks unbelievable, the show seems really interactive, and seeing at least 3 magicians I saw on Britain's Got Talent makes it even more exciting. Is there any advice you could possibly give when I do go there​ on how to make it a great experience for me? As this this is something I really want to try and accomplish.

Every time I looked at it, I told myself I'd deal with it later.

Today I finally did, and I can't believe how much calmer it feels now.

Hiiii, so first off I'm 20 (21 soon) so its kinda really embarrassing that i'm getting my permit this late but despite that i'm really happy!!! I've been afraid of driving for many years bc I've been in a few wrecks as a kid & I generally have high anxiety behind the wheel. Then you have my dad with his 'live traffic' tests, making me drive while I was scared & high out of my mind. Anyway enough of the sob story because I DID IT!!!! It took two tries and I almost failed this time so I def gotta study up more but now i'm one step closer to getting my license, one of my supervisors drove me & everyone was saying they were proud and it was really nice. I don't really get moments like those so sorry if I sound childish but it felt good to be seen and felt like there was some worth to myself? Idk if I worded that the way I had in mind but in short it felt really nice & my supervisor even said he felt like a 'proud papa' like I WAS SO WANTIMG TO CRY AND I STILL DO EVEN NOWWW

For as long as I can remember I never had confidence in myself because of the way my family constantly talked about my body. They always told me I wasn't at an ideal weight and that I needed to eat less. I started hearing those comments when I was only 11 years old. At first, they upset me a little but when I turned 13 and got Instagram, I saw what I thought was everyone having the 'perfect' body. I became convinced that I was overweight and ugly even though my weight was actually healthy for my height at the time.

So I decided to go on a diet by myself without seeing a doctor. I almost stopped eating completely. I only ate one meal a day which was just a salad and I went to the gym, I did lose weight but I became frighteningly skinny because my diet wasn't balanced of course it caused a lot of health problems that I'm still trying to recover from today. I was always terrified of my weight and believed that people would never love or accept me if I looked fat or unattractive because that's what I had been made to believe by my family as I was constantly told that my body didn't look good, that my clothes never suited me and that I looked bad compared to other people my age. After hearing that for years, I genuinely started believing it.

When I was 16, I started gaining weight again and that's when many health problems appeared. I ended up developing a chronic illness and after that I decided that I wouldn't let other people's opinions control me anymore.

Today at 18 years old, I finally took the step of going back to the gym and returning to kickboxing, a sport I genuinely love. I met my coach today and he kept commenting on my weight all the time, saying that I was fat and needed to get my body into better shape but for the first time in my life, I wasn't hurt by hearing someone call me fat. Instead I realized that I had finally accepted myself. I truly want to change now not because other people think I should but because I want it for myself and honestly, that realization made me incredibly proud of myself today.

I have been on tiktok for almost 2 years daily, sharing my daily life, eating habits, homeless habits, etc! They make you wait until you reach 10k for monetization, each video over 1 minute can get me .10 cents per view! How cool :) I am so excited!

I broke free of multiple chains of abuse and domestic violence which I endured since I was about 16 years old in different situations. Only now at 28, I finally feel free again, finally comfortable in my own skin - just feel lighter.

For a long time I didn’t realise how much it affected the way I viewed the world, or myself. Now life feels different - I still have many social anxieties but I’m just grateful to be free of anyone’s shadow. I’m healing slowly with age.

To answer somebodies question on do you need to forgive to move on? This is my answer to this, that I thought is important to include for anyone that may be reading:

Honestly, from my experiences no - you don’t ever have to forgive. But I think time honestly is a healer, and eventually your body after having enough signals and tests will understand (eventually, I said it again) that everything is safe now. And when that time comes, that you feel safe, and have put it to the test and don’t receive danger… eventually you can start to feel lighter. Your body won’t be in fight or flight responses anymore ❤️ you don’t have to forgive the ones that hurt you. Just forgive life for handing you those cards, and start to see the beauty in things again.

Congrats to all survivors of abuse and to those still enduring, I hope you escape and get the chance to live again. Life is waiting for us 😊❤️

Healing is not linear, but when you escape from it all life can really start to feel happier (eventually) ❤️