I am a 28 year old woman, I grew up in a household where I was physically and emotionally abused by my mum. She would hit me a lot and climb on top of me whilst choking me to the point I remember thinking "omg this is how I'm going to die". She would call me fat, nasty and ugly.
This seriously affected my confidence for years, I hated myself so much. I believed every nasty word she said and internalised it.
I made my way through abusive relationship after abusive relationship (sometimes I was the abuser). I was in a job I was completely unhappy in and made me very anxious and depressed.
I fell pregnant at 20, gave birth at 21 and suffered from postnatal depression, I couldn't stand my daughter and genuinely believed she ruined my life.
I'm now 28, my daughter is 7 in a few months, I'm going into my third year of uni in September, I have a lovely, cozy house, a car that gets us from A to Z and an amazing relationship with my child and my child's dad. I have such a better relationship with my mum, we hardly ever argue. I have a few close friends and tonight I genuinely feel like crying.
I feel like crying because if someone were to tell me 10 years ago that this is how my life would be, I would never of believed them. I am so thankful I could burst.