{"id":10460,"date":"2020-03-04T20:39:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T03:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/btsadv.wpengine.com\/?p=10460"},"modified":"2020-03-04T20:40:18","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T03:40:18","slug":"survivor-story-i-did-not-want-my-daughters-to-come-from-a-broken-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10460","title":{"rendered":"Survivor Story: I Did Not Want My Daughters to Come from a Broken Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submitted by: Melissa, Survivor<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>As a survivor of domestic violence, coming forward to\nshare one\u2019s story is not always easy. Doing so is a personal decision that each\nof us must make when we feel we are ready to open ourselves up and be\nvulnerable. Melissa shares with us what motivated her to leave her abusive\nrelationship and what she wants anyone who is going through abuse to know.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am generally not one to put the details of my personal\nlife on public display, mainly because I have come to expect looks of pity staring\nme in the face or criticisms and judgment that I was stupid for staying. However,\nif what I want to share helps just one woman, then it is all that matters. I decided\nto do this because I was silent and ashamed for too long, and it is time we all\nbreak the silence about domestic violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, the first few months of most relationships are\nthe honeymoon phase, and things are great. You think that you have finally\nfound the one, and you look past all the flaws and flags. Your instinct tells you\nhe or she has changed, and it easily dismissed by convincing yourself they would\nnot do that to you because they love you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, things start noticeably changing, and fights become\nmore than just yelling. They become insults that cut like a knife and make you\nfeel as though you are worthless. Holes are left behind in the walls, and\nthings get broken. That is when you become the target of their anger. You are\nshowered with promises as they say, <em>\u201cI\u2019ll never do it again! I\u2019m so sorry I\nlove you, please give me another chance to show you it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/em>\nBut it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was so blinded by love and the need to keep my family\ntogether that I looked past all the bad things happening, and I stayed. I\nstayed because I came from a broken home and wanted nothing more than for at\nleast one of my daughters to have a real family, with both a mom and dad living\ntogether. Despite trying to hold my family together, I needed to find a way to\nuse the abuse I endured as an example of what not to accept for my oldest child.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I was finally ready to leave, he made it abundantly\nclear that I wasn\u2019t going anywhere \u2013 unless it was in a body bag. He told me\nthat no one else was going to have me. I finally realized he did not love me,\nand he never really did. To him, I was just his property. I lived in fear every\nsingle day because I never knew if the next fight was going to be the one that\nfinally did it, the one that finally \u2013 and permanently \u2013 took me away from the daughters\nthat love me more than anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I approach the one-year mark of a permanent restraining\norder, I finally realized how fortunate I truly am to still be here. Being\nsurrounded for the last year by people who genuinely love me is probably the\nonly reason I made it out alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Has it been easy? Absolutely not. It has been the hardest\nthing to bounce back from, but I\u2019m still here. I am still fighting, still\ntrying, and still ALIVE to be the best mother I can be for my girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For anyone going through this, always remember that you are\nloved by so many people. There is a better life out there for you and your children\nno matter what horrible, degrading things he or she may have told you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>**If you or someone\nyou know is in an abusive relationship, there is help. You can visit the Break\nthe Silence website at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\"><em>www.breakthesilencedv.org<\/em><\/a><em>, chat with one of our helpline advocates at\n855-287-1777, or send a private message through our Facebook page.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">========<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s YOUR Raw Truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sharing our stories can be incredibly empowering while also\nhelping others connect with survivors who have similar experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are inspired to share your story with us, <a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/break-your-silence\/\">submit here<\/a>. You\ncan choose to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Our programs are\npossible because of our amazing community of supporters. If you\u2019d like to make\na financial gift to support our services, please visit our <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/donate\/\"><em>donation page<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Submitted by: Melissa, Survivor As a survivor of domestic violence, coming forward to share one\u2019s story is not always easy. Doing so is a personal decision that each of us must make when we feel we are ready to open ourselves up and be vulnerable. Melissa shares with us what motivated her to leave her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[90,116,181,117,182,34],"class_list":["post-10460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-break-your-silence","tag-domestic-violence","tag-emotional-abuse","tag-intimidation","tag-physical-abuse","tag-threats","tag-verbal-abuse"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Survivor Story: I Did Not Want My Daughters to Come from a Broken Home - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=10460\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Survivor Story: I Did Not Want My Daughters to Come from a Broken Home - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Submitted by: Melissa, Survivor As a survivor of domestic violence, coming forward to share one\u2019s story is not always easy. 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