Every Story Begins With Courage

"Counselling gave me a safe place to begin talking about my experiences. Although it wasn't an instant solution, it helped me start understanding my trauma instead of carrying it alone."

"Boundaries were crossed in a way I didn’t understand at the time. I froze. I didn’t have the words for what was happening, and I didn’t tell anyone. Instead, I pushed the memory down as far as I could. I convinced myself it was nothing."

"It felt like I was walking through a long, dark tunnel with no clear way out.

I felt like I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. It was as if my emotions had shut down. I felt numb."

"Painting became my world. My easel felt like the only stable thing in my life. I poured so much of myself into it that it almost felt alive. Looking back, I think it became both a comfort and a reminder of how much I was struggling."

"I didn’t have a plan, I just knew I couldn’t stay. I remember feeling untethered, exhausted, and deeply alone, convinced that I was too much and not enough all at once."

"For the first time, I began talking honestly about everything I had spent years hiding. The abuse. The assaults. The grief. The self-harm. The fear. The shame."

"There were moments when I didn’t think I would make it. There were times I questioned why I was still here after everything that happened."

"Even though it may not have looked violent from the outside, it left me feeling confused, shaken, and deeply hurt."

"There was a moment, not dramatic but honest, when I realised I couldn’t do this alone. That scared me more than the addiction itself. I had built my life around handling things on my own, around not needing anyone. Therapy felt like admitting failure. But it wasn’t."

"I honestly believed nobody would understand what had happened to me. For a long time, I became very good at pretending I was fine while quietly falling apart behind closed doors."