Some of us were never told that we deserved to feel safe.We were told to keep going.To be strong.To not make a scene.To forgive.To forget.To move on
from Sora
Some of us were never told that we deserved to feel safe.
We were told to keep going.
To be strong.
To not make a scene.
To forgive.
To forget.
To move on.
So we did.
We pushed through exhaustion.
We smiled when it hurt.
We stayed in places that made us feel small, scared, or unsettled—because we didn’t think we had the right to ask for more.
Because we were taught that what we needed didn’t matter unless someone else approved.
If this is you—if you’re just trying to keep going after surviving abuse, harassment, or assault—I want you to know something:
It’s not selfish to want to feel safe.
It’s not weak to want peace.
It’s not dramatic to say, “I can’t keep pretending I’m okay.”
It’s not too much to ask for rest, protection, or healing.
So many Survivors learned how to keep going by leaving themselves behind.
We learned how to numb, how to disappear, how to serve everyone but ourselves.
We learned that survival meant silence. That love meant endurance. That strength meant suffering.
But those were lies someone else handed us.
Lies that helped them. (someone, anyone, and everyone else)
Lies that harmed us.
The truth is:
You deserve to feel safe in your own body and in spaces designated for you.
You deserve to be somewhere you don’t have to look over your shoulder.
You deserve to breathe deeply, to rest fully, to heal without rushing.
You don’t have to prove anything to deserve these things.
You don’t have to keep “pushing through” just because the world told you that you should.
You deserve more than survival.
You deserve return.
You deserve repair.
You deserve tenderness, protection, and room to exhale.
Even if no one ever told you that before—I am telling you now.
Even if the world never made space for your safety—you are allowed to make that space for yourself.
Come back.
Come gently.
Come without shame.
You are worth the return.
—
SurvivorAffirmations.com
