How do you find your way back to yourself when another person has stripped you of your confidence, made you question your intuition, and jaded your sense of “good” in the world? How do you re-learn to love yourself when there is a haunting voice that says you are unworthy of love?
You were made to believe you are crazy. You were taught to put their needs before yours. You learned to keep the peace at any cost. And that cost was usually your own well-being.
Domestic violence isn’t merely bruises and broken bones. It isn’t only fabricated stories created to ease the humiliation of being in a relationship we never thought we’d find ourselves in. Often the web of violence is interwoven in the psyche of the victim. It is methodically and relentlessly chipping away at the very structures that each of us relies on to maintain a sense of identity. Intimate partner abuse is a tricky beast, wrought with nasty side effects that can linger for a lifetime.
So, how does one find safety, love, and trust again after abuse?
Journey to Self- Love
The answer is found in the journey back to Self. The journey applies to those of you who once knew who you were and fell prey to the dark side of human control. It applies to those of you who have never felt a strong connection with yourself. After living in a mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically violent environment with an abuser, the path to internal peace will include the same stepping stones.
These healing stones are not always linear, meaning there is no order or even progression. Each stone will come along differently for each of us, and they will continually invite us to heal more deeply, understand ourselves more fully, and reconcile all the missing pieces of our souls over time. Don’t be surprised if some stones seem to be on repeat at times while others aren’t as prevalent–this is how the soul heals itself–in its own time. The important thing is to look for opportunities in each of these areas.
The Stones of Healing
Self-Study
Self-study is the commitment not to distract yourself with shame-spirals, fixing other people’s problems, or pretending you’re doing better than you are. Learning yourself includes identifying your emotions, needs, triggers, desires, old patterns, and boundaries. The more you know about yourself, the less you’ll allow other people to tell you who you are.
May I remind you: Know yourself the best. Love yourself the most.
Self-Love
Here is where you build the connection to your truth, bond with yourself, and learn how to show up and nurture yourself. Most of us have been told this is selfish, and we should sacrifice and give to others first.
May I remind you: You are worthy of taking the time to learn and to love yourself well.
Self-Compassion
In this stone where you learn and remember how to be kind to yourself, forgiving the times you sacrificed your own well-being for another, and practicing speaking kindly to yourself when you struggle to feel you are doing it “right.”
May I remind you: You are enough, just as you are in this moment.
Self-Awareness
This is understanding that no matter how the path unfolds, I alone am responsible for paying attention to myself and making sure I am following through with my commitments to myself, speaking what is true for me, and doing whatever it takes to create safety for myself.
May I remind you: This “work” is ongoing, deeply rewarding, and completely empowering.
Being Self-Focused
Notice the path to loving yourself is entirely self-focused. You have the power to recreate, rebuild, reestablish whatever kind of life you dream of. No matter what anyone else has done to tear you apart, break you open, and leave you for dead, you still hold the key to your soul journey. You can honor your loss with your tears as you weep over what has been stolen from you. You can embrace the sacred privilege of being the only one who will ever be able to collect the scattered pieces of your soul that were always meant to be an enchanted mosaic. You were made to be a self-healer.
Everything doesn’t happen for a reason. Sometimes people and life can be unnecessarily dark and inhumane. But as humans, we each carry an unprecedented ability to reconcile loss, recover from pain, and recreate our dreams. For every piece of you that feels broken today, there is an entire toolbox of skills and tools ready to be learned and used to help you rebuild a life you love and feel safe in. Life will never be what you imagined it would be before you became acquainted with domestic violence. Still, if you can give yourself time and patience as you begin to walk through these healing stones, you’ll find there is more than you ever thought imaginable right within your reach.
Loving yourself after abuse means allowing yourself to dance across–to and fro, weaving in and out of–the four Stones of Healing (self-study, self-love, self-compassion, self-awareness)… for the rest of your life.
