I'm Tired of Asking People to Keep Loving Me
Recently I dealt with a close family member walking out of my life. After months of trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, hoping they'd start to realize the negative impact of their actions and behavior toward me, they finally stopped trying to use me to satisfy their need for control and simply left, with no sign of if or when they would return. I was stunned and deeply hurt. Hadn't I done enough? Hadn't I been enough? This wasn't the first time I'd dealt with someone close deciding to walk away from their relationship with me. It was definitely not the first time I'd questioned my abilities and my validity and my worth because of such a break. It hit me that I'd been putting myself through too much of a wringer with pressure that was too high. In the middle of questioning myself, I was inwardly already expecting the relationship to end. There was already a cycle of despair that assumed the other person would be walking away at some point;
