We often stay in toxic relationships not because we are weak. We stay because we have hope. The hope that 'maybe tomorrow will be better.' But sometimes, waiting for 'tomorrow', we lose ourselves completely.
The Signs We Kept Ignoring
In three years of relationship I came to believe that I was always the one in the wrong. After every argument, I was the one who had to apologize. My choices were wrong, my friends were wrong, my family was wrong — only he was always right. Slowly I gave everything up. And one day I realized I didn't know myself anymore.
The Day I Said No
One day there was an argument over a small thing. He said 'I cannot do anything without you.' Earlier this felt like love to me. That day it felt like fear. This was not love — this was control. And that night I thought — 'I am going to leave.'
Anjali Sharma, author"The day I left — that was the most frightening and most beautiful day of my life. I was afraid of how I would manage alone. But today I know — loneliness is a thousand times better than that pain."
After Leaving — What Changed
In the first month I looked for my old friends. I apologized for having pushed them away. They embraced me. Slowly I remembered what I used to love — books, tea, morning walks. These were all mine — things I had forgotten.
If you are in a relationship where you break a little more each day — that is not love. And you can leave. You don't need anyone's permission.
