A poem of reconstruction — In my youth I knew nothing of the tenderness the passion and the burning love. I knew only of the awkward, the obligatory and the butterflies in my heart that seemed to justify anything and everything as long as the boy wanted me. These were the butterflies they spoke of in the rom-coms, the young adult novels, the pop music that came with…

A poem, a rant, a messy stream of consciousness, a love letter to survivors in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. — Love is not isolation. Love is not hidden. You deserve warmth and acceptance and love out loud between two equals- two teammates. The narcissist is incapable of offering you what you deserve. But he makes you believe he's given you the whole world and lassoed the moon and sacrificed everything and breathed air into your lungs and pumped burning red blood into…

After abuse, self-advocacy is one of the most important yet challenging skills to master. — Leaving an abusive relationship can feel nearly impossible. It requires a person to recognize that their boundaries are being broken while their nervous system is responding to trauma. …

General relationship cliches harm us more than they’ve ever helped us. — These days, it seems anybody with over 10k followers could be considered a relationship guru. Virality has become equivalent to truth and anyone’s advice can be spread around to the masses, whether it is credible or not. One phrase that I’ve witnessed the internet cling to is “You must love…

The keys to understanding how love-bombing differs from a healthy, romantic courtship. — For decades, psychiatrists and psychologists have studied the manipulative tools used by narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths. The concept of “Love-Bombing” is one of these tools and is defined by these professionals as a form of psychological manipulation regularly used by pimps, gang members, and cult leaders to maintain power and…

Ok, so am I a part of a couple now? Can this happen for me? Is this allowed? — My history of dating and relationships has been tumultuous, to say the least. After so many abusive experiences, I had gotten into the habit of only being attracted to the wrong type of person. …