Abuse Hides in the Dark. Turn on Your Light.

Recovery from Domestic Abuse


  • True Stories of Abuse

    True Stories of Abuse

    We are no longer accepting submissions. But you’ll find our collection of true stories of abuse helpful. Here are some stories from people just like you: Why Do We Share True Stories of Abuse? True stories of abuse are important for several reasons: Overall, true stories of abuse are an important tool for creating awareness,

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  • Codependent Behavior Makes Abuse Victims Manipulative Too

    Hello everyone, this week I’ve thought about the “mess” codependent behavior causes in our hearts and minds. It’s so confusing to live in abuse, confusing when you want to leave it, and confusing once you are free. Confusion causes us to act unlike ourselves, distrust ourselves, and try to manipulate for the greater good (which

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  • I Didn’t Know It Was Abuse

    I Didn’t Know It Was Abuse

    One morning, while applying waterproof mascara, I looked into my eyes and saw it. Nothing. My eyes didn’t shine or pop; there was no light. Where did I go? Where was my soul? Fiery hot tears boiled in the corners of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks leaving their tracks in the pink blush

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  • Safety Planning Process Brings Up Tough Emotions

    Safety Planning Process Brings Up Tough Emotions

    One of the toughest things about the safety planning process is that it forces you to face the abuse in your relationship. When you look at your abusive relationship truthfully, the panic to leave begins. You rush to judgment on yourself, thinking things like, Please, refrain from judging yourself. Not one of those reactions takes

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  • 3 Things Domestic Abuse Survivors Know That Victims Don’t

    3 Things Domestic Abuse Survivors Know That Victims Don’t

    Only Domestic Abuse Survivors Will Read This Only domestic abuse survivors will read this post. If you’re an abuse victim, you’re somewhere else online researching what you can do about fixing your relationship or marriage, not searching for information about abuse. You see, abuse victims don’t know they’re victims. Abuse victims don’t recognize abuse, so

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  • Quick Self-Care Tips for People in Abusive Relationships

    Quick Self-Care Tips for People in Abusive Relationships

    Quick self-care tips for people in abusive relationships must help you redirect your thinking away from the abuser and onto yourself. This is important because we’re conditioned to think only of the abuser’s behavior. Whether the abuser is being nice or horrible, our lives center on what he or she is doing, thinking or feeling.

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  • Empowered Healing from Domestic Abuse

    Empowered Healing from Domestic Abuse

    Empowered Healing Recipe By Anonymous I see my recipe for empowered healing from emotional abuse as an ongoing process. I see myself as a cook making a long, slow meal cooked over multiple days. Creating this recipe is a labor of self-love. I’m constantly tasting the mix as I go along and adding a pinch of

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  • Staying in an Abusive Relationship

    Staying in an Abusive Relationship

    Staying Is a Choice You Can Make Staying in an abusive relationship is a choice some of us make. But when you’re staying in an abusive relationship, you won’t find much support from your family or friends–if your abuser hasn’t isolated you from them–or even domestic violence helping agencies. People who would like to support

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  • Flat-Lining in Domestic Abuse Recovery

    Flat-Lining in Domestic Abuse Recovery

    Stephen Covey says to “live out of your imagination, not your history.” Depression, suicidal thoughts, hate, despair and hopelessness result when I live out of the mindset of my past. It’s as if he is abusing me all over again.

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  • I Left My Abusive Marriage: Why Am I Still In A Mental Fog?

    I Left My Abusive Marriage: Why Am I Still In A Mental Fog?

    I left my abusive marriage just like Susan, the author of the story below. Focusing on this part of her story is important because although staying in an abusive relationship isn’t easy, living after leaving one isn’t easy either. It’s wonderful to think that after leaving abuse life will go straight back to normal. But

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