Same. Wanna drink together?

Wow, congrats on saving your sister! That's fantastic. I hope you both lead happy and healthy new lives.

Yes. One of the best weapons an abuser has is isolation. By the middle of our relationship he kept my phone on him at all time, monitored my texts, facebook and email, and would throw jealous fits if someone invited me out but not him. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, it was very obvious that I wasn't allowed to…

Thank you, thank you so much. My ex actually nagged me really hard to have children with him, but thankfully I have a subdermal contraceptive implant (can't be tampered with by an outside party). I really didn't want to bring children into that place.

He was beaten by his parents and I think he thought that if he had…

Honestly, I have no idea how you'd approach someone who appears to be standing with their abuser. Maybe like ask the woman "Hey, are you okay?" and then if the guy seems really defensive or tries to stop her talking to you, call the police? I honestly don't know.

I used to daydream about getting hit by a car on my way…

Thank you :)

That perception is a massive problem, and unfortunately the people who are being abused are usually aware of it, and start internalising it.

I ran four miles to a friend's house once in pyjamas with no shoes on, with a bloody face, and when I knocked on his door he took me in for the night but when I left in the…

Jesus. Reading that gave me goosebumps. I'm so glad you got out of that.
Survivors unite in pride <3

I am totally up for that! I would gladly talk about this all day long if there was even a tiny chance it could help someone.

My ex's father survived the attack and went on to do a pilgrimage on foot, walking from England through France to Spain, raising money for a UK children's charity.

Thank you, that sounds amazing. I was raped at 13 and again at 18 by friends, and then ended up in 2 abusive and sexually violent relationships, so I've always had a lot of confusing feelings about sex. That book sounds like it might be really helpful.

Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me.
and I'm so glad you ran, well done. I hope one day to go to schools or colleges and talk about abusive relationships to help young people. I think a lot of people think it's easy to detect abuse, but it really isn't always simple.

thankfully his father survived. He Dropboxed me some pictures of his head and his flat after the attack, I honestly don't know how he survived. I guess the knife didn't go through his skull and into his brain, but he had to have his scalp glued back together and stitched. Just astonishing.

Can people PM on the new…

THAT'S WHAT MY EX SAID OH MY GOD

"If you knew how to break fall, you wouldn't have got hurt."

I am covered in goosebumps now, holy shit.

Yes, I would completely agree with that. I couldn't date for two years, and I'm only just easing back into it now, but I have enormous trust issues and tend to freak out and run away at the smallest of things. I am basically afraid of men and struggle to trust them, and it's taken me two years of healing to even begin…

Thank you. I do like giant hugs and kittens.

Thank you. I read a poem about it at a writer's meeting where everyone else was middle-aged, and they were completely stunned. They thought I was too young and too smart to be abused, but unfortunately it really can happen to anyone.

It's amazing the level of cognitive dissonance that was present in my head at that time. I ended up getting psychotically depressed because I knew that what was happening was wrong, but I also blamed myself and constantly made excuses for him.

"He has a temper, I know that, and I provoked him. It was my fault."
"I…

Yes! Wow, LaComtesse hug. I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity ^_^

Thank you. I'm just glad I survived. Not that long after I ran away, he moved back home with his dad and ended up stabbing him six times in the head and multiple times in the arm with a kitchen knife during an argument. So now I'm extremely wary of men…

Same. I just can't even begin to wrap my head around all the horrors of this world.