A quick disclaimer, Abuse is a horrible thing to experience and it's something that no one should have to go through. It is an agonizing period of your life where everything feels suffocating. This post is to encourage those who are going through abuse and to remind them that it will pass someday.

that being said, my personal experience with abusive people (for me, that came in the form of friends and romantic partners) is that after I had pushed through the pain and made it out the other side, I became a much more emotionally mature person that I had been before.

I wont get into the specifics, But I had moments where I felt completely lost, hopeless, and had no idea how to get out of the situation I was in, I was alone and I couldnt even bring myself to talk to other people because I was worried my abuser (my gf at the time) would force them away like she'd done to so many others. After about 3 years of this, I finally cut all ties with her. It was tough, and at times I felt like I almost needed to go back to her. But I held out on it. Despite having the reputation in my school of "that weird depressed kid" I made an effort to go out and talk to the people I was surrounded with every day, and after being pushed away a few times, I kept trying, thinking "Well nothing could be worse than the situation I'm already in".

After doing this for a few weeks, everything started getting so much easier, and i found myself feeling confident in myself for the first time in years, I understood my emotions more than I ever had, and since then my empathy has been at an all time high. If I had to pick one person Im the most grateful for, It would probably be the person who made my life hell for 3 years, as odd as that is to say.

My point in posting this is to remind people that being abused is not the end of everything, and it CAN be a learning experience for introspection and learning about your emotions. Perspective is important in these situations, Try to take a step back, think about what you can do, and try your best, no one will ask any more of you than your best.

You've got this.