Only A Mirage

“The question that sometimes drives me hazy: Am I, or the others crazy?” – Albert Einstein

Just smile Maria. No one has to know. You’re just being silly.

There are many people out there that find themselves in abusive relationships. The sad part is that those people often feel like they either deserve the abuse or they are just ”being silly”.

Abuse comes in many forms; physical, verbal, neglect and mental. In some relationships those types of abuse may start out as simple playing or joking, but they eventually become serious. When someone lays a hand on you or grips you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, that is not okay.

You should not have to spend your time covering up bruises or putting on a smile, in something that should make you happy.

The worse part about being in an abusive relationship is that everyone is quick to say, “then why did you stay so long”. What they do not understand (what I did not understand) is that once you are in that situation there are so many factors that make you feel like it is not as serious as it seems.

Maybe the person you are with is a great person to everyone around them. In that case, you are constantly hearing how great he/she is and how lucky you are. Hearing that all the time adds up; if you say something about how that person treats you, then you are just being silly or lying because “a person like that could never be capable of hurting someone”.

Maybe they are constantly yelling at you and telling you how “no one will ever love you” and “you aren’t worth caring about”. To the point that you begin to actually question what would happen if you leave; would you be alone?

When it gets to the point that the yelling is so intense that you are in fear of doing anything wrong because they might actually hurt you, it is not okay.

For me it took too long to realize this. But luckily that person is no longer in my life. Unlike others in that situation, the person tormenting me left.

If you are in a situation like that, where you feel uncomfortable in your relationship, truly think about leaving. I know it’s hard and I know it might seem like you will be alone, but you would be surprised by who sticks by your side.