For The Days When You Need a Reminder That You Are Worth the Fight

By Kaitlyn MuellerJanuary 16, 2017

If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you that I talk about my life a lot. I always have something to say, whether it’s sharing an embarrassing event that’s happened to me, talking about my favorite TV show, or opening up about things I’ve gone through in order to help someone else.

Yet, despite my transparency, there are pieces of my life that I’ve felt were too dark to discuss.

It’s been easy to talk about the days when I tried to shrink my body into nothing more than a fleeting object. I had no problem admitting when my mind couldn’t seem to calm down. I didn’t feel any shame speaking about the days where getting out of bed seemed like climbing a mountain.

But when it came to my trauma, I became more of a locked diary than an open book.

For years, I believed that my abuse was something I needed to keep secret. It happened, and therefore I should just be able to move on. Nobody outside of those involved needed to know. When the thoughts of opening up to people crept in, I would get mad at myself for even considering that as an option. While deep down I knew that it wasn’t my fault, shame always found a way to sneak itself into my mind:

“No one would look at you the same if they knew what happened to you.”

“You should be embarrassed.”

“How could you possibly love yourself?”

“Just let this be behind you already. You don’t need to attach your perspective to all the attention it already received.”

Over the past six years, there have been days when I hate him more than I can stand.

When nothing but anger flows through my veins, and the only thing I want to scream is, “Why?!”

When I’m reminded that there are people out there who don’t know my name but know my body.

When I’m simply the unnamed victim in a news story.

When I feel like I’m just “that poor girl.”

There are also days where I miss him unbearably. I think of all the milestones he’s missed and wonder if he’d be proud of me. I wonder if he thinks of me at all.

It’s a constant war with my emotions.

Slowly, I began opening up to people I knew I could trust. I put myself in the narrative and invited others into those dark places with me: counselors, teachers, and friends. The past year has been filled with therapy and learning coping skills and tears. It’s also been filled with learning.

Learning how to use my voice to say what’s wrong.

Learning that there are ways to show that my body is my own besides depriving it.

Learning to give others grace, but more importantly, learning to give myself grace.

Learning to hear the truth, even though some days it’s harder to believe than others:

I am not what happened to me.

I am not a reflection of his actions.

I am more than the victim the world portrayed me to be.

I am worthy of love: true, unconditional love.

Heaviness is a part of my story, but that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve the light.

Hope always seemed like something abstract to me. It was out there, somehow, just maybe not for me. But now I’ve learned that it’s a tangible thing. It’s the slice of pizza that I eat when laughing with my closest friends. It’s going to a soccer game with my coworkers, letting that experience replace the thoughts of him that come up whenever the sport is mentioned. It’s taking my life back, day after day, as I wake up and say, “I am worth the fight.”

Because I am.

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Comments (8)

  1. Katie

    Your story and is so powerful, and I meds to hear it. It gives me hope that maybe one day I can actually get to the point where the trauma in my life isn’t so consuming and doesn’t steal so much of my energy. Thank you for your strength to share.

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  2. bellla

    Thank you.

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  3. Gwen

    Thank you for sharing your story. I identify with so much, but there was one line in this which made me literally gasp out loud and cry ugly tears. I needed that. I needed that understanding of why I struggle in the ways that I do.

    “Learning that there are ways to show that my body is my own besides depriving it.”

    I need to learn this again.

    Thank you.

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  4. Brittany Whiteside

    I needed to read this. I’ve been battling my anxiety/depression a lot this last week. Thank you for your words. Thank YOU for being a survivor. This world needs you.

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  5. Leigh

    You ARE!! Praying for you and am so very proud of you for carrying on and being a beacon of home for others…God Bless You!

    Reply  |  
  6. Montana

    I feel at times that I am not worth even getting out of bed, but my fighting force everyday is the baby that I am about to give birth to. The trauma I have experienced in my life has knocked me down more times than I can remember, I haven’t even opened up about half of it due to fear of what others would say or how they would look at me.
    I’m not really sure if I will ever fully be able to open up about anything. But I battle the demons that arise everyday and I will continue to get stronger

    Reply  |  
    1. TWLOHA

      Montana,

      Your determination and honesty is encouraging and inspiring. We hope that you feel safe and welcome when sharing your feelings and struggles in our little corner of the world.

      You are always welcome to email us at [email protected], if you ever need some support or just someone to listen. We are here to help you in any way that we can. No judgement to pass, we only want to provide you with hope that you will feel better and help to make your burden a little easier to manage.

      We see you. Please keep going.

      With Hope,
      TWLOHA

      Reply  |  
  7. Melissa

    Thank you for sharing !

    Reply  |  
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