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Are You Abandoning Yourself in Your Relationships?
How trauma can condition us to believe self-abandonment is normal.
Trigger Warning: The following content includes personal experiences and discussions around difficult topics such as trauma, emotional challenges, childhood maltreatment, or abusive relationships. While my intent is to educate and share personal insights, some readers may find certain content emotionally distressing. This article is for informational purposes only. For an even deeper dive into all things trauma and relationships, subscribe to my newsletter in bio.
There are hundreds — even thousands — of articles online that talk about self-abandonment. One common theme I have noticed is that many of these articles use the word “self-abandonment” to define self-abandonment. These definitions become diluted and circular explanations of what self-abandonment allegedly is, or how it supposedly shows up in our relationships.
Suffice to say, definitions that are redundant and circular in attempting to define what self-abandonment actually is, limit our understanding of personal autonomy and our ability to relate to ourselves and others from a safe space of self-advocacy. I am not here to shame anyone for writing another incomplete definition of self-abandonment. The truth is, our awareness of…
