One of the most important tools in therapeutic practice are personal stories – authentic experiences that can help not just those who lived them, but also others who may find understanding, inspiration, or hope in them. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has chosen to share their stories, and with the authors' permission, we can publish them here. Each story is a gift that can light the way for someone else. Thank you for your trust and for giving us the opportunity to pass these experiences along.
I’m running. Because I know it. Because it protects. Because being seen hurts. But then there is silence. A woman who doesn’t speak unnecessarily, and I just sit there. For the first time, I have nowhere to run. And maybe… maybe I don’t even want to.
At first, I missed it. Then I was afraid and forgot what it was like. To touch. To be close. Until one day someone reached out a hand… and my skin remembered.
How many times have I thought, “I should have said no”? How many times have I gone along with something, agreed to things, even when every part of me was screaming inside? Maybe you know the feeling too. And maybe you’re also looking for a way to finally change it.
I know that feeling. Silence where there used to be laughter. When someone close to you, a friend or a girlfriend, disappears from your life, and you don’t really know why? So, you start looking for answers within yourself. I’ve been through it, and I know that silence was sometimes worse than a breakup.