When my ex broke off our three-year relationship a few years back, I let the darkness take over my life. I was devastated. After putting in years of love and effort into this relationship, it all shattered in just a moment. There were no signs that this is coming; it came out of the left field. What was most hurtful about the whole situation was the way he acted like everything was alright. I received no warning, no heads up. He didn’t communicate with me about how he was feeling, which I believe is a key ingredient to a healthy and functional relationship. Instead, he chose to act as if everything was alright – kissed me and touched me, and then surprised me with the truth. As I mentioned, the darkness consumed my life back then. I didn’t leave my home, didn’t talk to my friends, I surrendered to the feeling. I thought that I could never recover from this, not fully; that I will never love as intensely again, but I was wrong.

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After some time went by and those feelings remained, I decided to take some time off from the dating scene. I wanted to take some time to focus on myself, to rebuild all that has been broken. I searched deep within myself for answers and solutions. I wanted to move past it. I wanted to be strong again, to know my worth again, to be open to love again. Once you’ve been so deeply hurt by someone you loved and trusted, it’s hard to open up this way again. I learned a lot about myself throughout this process and it helped me overcome my previous feelings. Thanks to it, I was ready to go back out there and be open to love again. I have no doubt that I have this to thank for the wonderful relationship that I am in right now. Thanks to this process I also know that no matter the outcome of this relationship, I will remain strong. When darkness takes over us, we have to shake it off, and let the light in.