BUY ERISPAN OVER THE COUNTER

I recognize myself in what you say.

sara, you gotta take that risk once more and be open with your husband... without faith, theres nothing and trust me... if he loves you even iota of how much you say, he does.... he will understand and stand by you.... if not then you would know better, right!

my love and prayers with you!

Sara, There are quite a few outstanding comments above. Everything from "Thank you for sharing" to "You are worthy". You are worthy. You didn't deserve the bad things that happened. I think you recognize that you might unwittingly sabotage the relationship you're in - it sounds like you're in a good one now. Have you shared this post with your husband? I'd wager that he would appreciate the peek into what's going on inside of your beautiful soul. Peace, sister. You're in my prayers. It takes tremendous strength to be a survivor and to emerge as a victor. Bless you for sharing your story.

I learned about this site months ago. I clicked, and then ran away. I've done that a few times now. Skipping over this site the same way I skip over the memories and the situation I find myself in now.

I am on my number 2 abusive relationship. The first was physical, the current it emotional warfare. It hasn't once been physical. But it has been deeply emotional in the most insidious way. A game that is constantly denied as a game. He is a shadow, a ninja sniper.

And I am in that place Sara, that place of feeling like I am the common denominator. That I must be so inherently flawed as to not be lovable. That this is somehow all my fault. I can see it so clearly, when I read your words, or the words of others, how it isn't any of your fault, but I can't get there for myself.

I will lay awake tonight, trying to find the courage I need to see this as clearly for myself. There is fear in leaving, but there is also fear that it really is me, and that no one anywhere will ever find me pretty enough, smart enough, or generally worthy of love and respect.

I can understand why your mind cannot accept the love it is being given. Keep trying.

I feel your pain...but you won't break. You are strong. And although he might not understand, I pray he will comfort you and give you the space you need to heal.

Sara, you are not alone. You ARE lovable, worthy and good enough. Always remember that.

I know how you feel, I had a friend who jumped out of the 9th floor window. She was beautiful and I always wanted to be her.

Saying the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence is a no brainer, still, it's true.

You know what, Sara? I've been reading this blog about once a week or so for a few months since I found it. The stories here, like yours, are stories of horror and stories of unbelievable strength and bravery, stories of survival. And it could be so easy to read through this site and despair of men, to want to curl up and protect yourself from all of them, indiscriminately. I've never experienced what you or the other women on this site have experienced, but I can understand the impulse to self-preservation, and to question yourself and your own worth.

But your story has this other thread that runs through so many of the other ones here. There's a good man in your life, and you can't imagine how he could love someone as broken as you perceive yourself to be. So many good men out there who aren't afraid to help pick up the pieces that other men left scattered and broken. It really is heartening, to me at least. I hope that as you heal, as you begin to trust yourself again, that you can trust in the hope and happiness your husband can bring you. Because you really are worth it, and it was never your fault.

I was in a similar situation... a lot of problems with previous relationships and then finding Mr. Right, whom I kept expecting to turn on me like every one else. But I was totally honest and up front with him about why I snap, why I cry seemingly for no reason, why I get frustrated and lose my temper, why I'm so paranoid jealous about online relationships. I didn't think he would understand, but he does. He lets me read over his shoulder whenever I want, he has absolutely nothing to hide, and he doesn't take it personally when I snap at him because of something else. It took a few years to get my trust to the point it is now, and a lot of hard work, but it CAN be done, and I believe you can do it too. There's a lot of good advice in some of these comments, and I hope you can make the best of it. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Thank you for having the courage to survive, to keep surviving and for sharing your story.

RT @MaggieDammit: #VU is back up. Please support today's domestic violence survivor: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/ #timetotalk

RT @MaggieDammit: Please support today's domestic violence survivor: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/

RT @MaggieDammit: #VU is back up. Please support today's domestic violence survivor: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/ #timetotalk

#VU is back up. Please support today's domestic violence survivor: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/ #timetotalk

RT @MaggieDammit: Please support today's brave #vu survivor by reading and commenting: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/

At times like this I wish I knew more words. Actually, I just wish I knew the right words. But the thing is you already know the right words. They're the ones you wouldn't quite let yourself use when you wrote your story. But you know. You know you're good enough, pretty enough, lovable enough worthy enough. Down in that place where you know stuff, you know this to be true. You know that nobody asks to be abused. You know that you didn't bring this upon yourself. and you know yo're paying interest on a bill that hasn't come due yet.

You also know that you're still afraid, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, still waiting to be betrayed yet again. But it sounds like -- from what you say -- that your husband already knows most of the things you haven't spoken of. Not the details maybe, but he knows. I can't say that with certitude not knowing the man, but from everything you say that's the feeling I get.

So answer this question -- not for me, but for yourself. What is the worst thing that could happen if you told him everything, every little detail in Technicolor and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound? If he is the man you describe here, then he'll be your best asset, your biggest ally as you fight to regain yourself. And if he's not? If he turns away in horror? If he scorns you or blames you or turns his back on you?

If he does that, then he is not worthy of you.

Read that last one again.

You see Sara, we all have our flaws. You, me, your husband, everyone. But they do not make us "unworthy" or "unlovable". They simply make us human. And I think that once you stop holding back, you'll figure out whether or not the thing that's been scaring you to death is really a monster, or just a pile of laundry on the chair in the corner. You'll know, because you will have turned on the lights to see what it is rather than continuing to imagine what it is and letting that imagining grow into a perceived reality.

And it's only a hunch, but I think that once you've unburdened yourself from the secret you think you're keeping, you will feel a lot better. Even if everything falls apart you'll no longer be kept by the secrets. Because that's what happens. You don't keep secrets, they keep you.

There's life on the other side of abuse Sara, all you have to do is get there. And from everything you've said, you have the advantage of someone who will help you get there. And if that turns out to be wrong? You still have us, Sara. This community, these people, will be here. I will be here. For you, and for all the other Sara's that need it, I will be here to offer whatever I have. And I would expect you'll hear the same from just about everyone else here. That's what I get from the comments I've read above me.

Take these comments, these words of support, print them out and put them in a place where you can pull them out and read them when you feel that thread you're hanging by straining to the breaking point. And if that's not enough, I'm only an email away. And others will tell you the same.

You are not alone. And you don't have to live this way.

Much love.

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RT @MaggieDammit: Please support today's brave #vu survivor by reading and commenting: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/

Thinking of you and sending thoughts of strength. Lots of strength. xo

None of it was your fault, and you are SO worthy of love!!! Thank you for sharing your story. I wish you peace and healing.

I've read. I'm witness to your story. And I hope that you begin to trust, when it's right for you. Accept the love of the people who offer it, again, when it's right for you. Thank you for taking the step to share your story!

RT @MaggieDammit: Please support today's brave #vu survivor by reading and commenting: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/

RT @MaggieDammit: Please support today's brave #vu survivor by reading and commenting: http://violenceunsilenced.com/sara/

Sara, thank you for sharing here.

I would like to say there is nothing wrong with you. You are absolutely good enough. You are not needy or weak. And you are not as fragile as you think you are.

You might not feel okay, but you ARE worthy, and you are loved.

Keep your chin up, friend. Sending you peace across the miles.

Sara, you are lovable. And you deserve to be loved and treated with dignity and respect. The violence done to you was not your fault. There is no shame in being a victim.

Sara,
You are 100% not guilty for the violence that was visited upon you by two different men.

Those men are 100% guilty for what they did to you.

There is nothing that you could have done to justify a man beating your head on a bathroom floor, or dripping his blood on you and attempting to rape you. Their actions are not a reflection on you, they are a reflection of those two men.

I am glad to read that you are in therapy, and I cannot encourage you enough to continue therapy.

Thank you for sharing you story here.

Thank you for being so brave today. You are not alone. You are valuable, and loved. Allow yourself to take that love in.

It can be hard to work through trust issues. I still haven't told my husband the full story. And I don't know when I'll be able to.
It's hard to accept that we're *worth* loving.
But we are. YOU are.

Thank you for sharing

Sending you love and light.

Unfortunately the worst damage of abuse is rarely the physical (even when that's horrific)--it's the emotional damage that is the true violence. Because even when that person is no longer in our lives, their damage continues in us. The wounds do not always heal. The scars do not always fade. Time sometimes makes things worse, not better.

That whole "I'm not good enough" thing? That is so NORMAL for survivors of abuse that it's sickening. I have it, absolutely. Most survivors do. And it takes time, patience, and practice to start overcoming that thinking and start loving yourself. And until you love yourself, you will never truly believe that anyone else can love you too.

I wish I had a magic wand to wave.

((((hugs))))

Sara,
I love you so much and you have made my life so much better for the living. Thank you for being brave and sharing your story -- by doing so you are showing your girls (and all of us) how bravery and grace are one in the same. We need to see each other very soon, pretty lady.

Yes. You could break at any time.

But just through your words, it is so obvious that you are so much stronger than you realise. You have been through and are currently experiencing so much. And through your expression will come healing.

You've come this far on your dark journey. I honestly believe that you can make the rest.

Thank you so much for sharing.

You're not alone. Within each one of us there is a little of you; I hold the same insecurities, the same fears, the same sense of unworthiness. The truth is, we do deserve to be loved, to be cherished, to be happy.

In reaching out, in speaking out, you will find that there is strength in numbers. That there is hope for the future, and that we care.

Thank you for writing. For laying it on the line so that others may find their voice.

When I read the stories here of survivors, I often sit for a very long time, wondering what I can say that sounds supportive and helpful; most often I have a hard time coming up with anything besides thanks for sharing.

See, because in sharing, we begin to heal. We realize we are not alone in this fight to feel normal.

So Sara, thanks for sharing. I hope that by doing so you are able to let go of a little bit of the pain and begin trusting yourself and others again. xo

Thank you for sharing, my thoughts and prayers are with you as you heal.

sara- my thoughts are with you. by posting this piece, you're beginning to gain your life back. unfortunately pieces of our past, even the ugliest ones, are part of what make us who we are... survivors.

trust is not easy. acceptance is not easy. comprehending unconditional love is not easy. but that does not mean it's not there.

i wish you peace in your continued survivorship. thank you for sharing.