I feel free!

  Here is the latest on one of my clients.  She was in a decade long abusive relationship.  She has worked through so much, and this is her today: "I feel free. He is gone and the divorce will be final next week! Today would have been our 10th anniversary and I don't miss him at all. I never thought I would see this day. I see the world as it is now. No more denial and hiding from the truth. No more lying to myself. No more taking crumbs and living in fear. Never again will I allow a man to hit me, demean me or terrorize me. Now I realize how strong I am. First I didn't see. Then I saw, but was frozen in fear. Then came the anger, but I stayed. The click for me in getting out of this abusive relationship was that moment after an argument, when I felt such relief when he gave me the silent treatment and left me alone. When he left, my body collapsed into relaxation. I sighed in relief. When he returned, I began to notice how my muscles tightened and I couldn't breathe. I started listening to my body and even though it took me years to get here, I have arrived. I am free now."