I went through a pretty toxic relationship last year that ended with him gaslighting and manipulating me over and over again. I became so codependent on him emotionally that I would put up with his blatant lies and silent treatment just for a hit of dopamine when he would finally text me or compliment me.
I thought I couldn’t live without him. I used to tell him that and think how romantic it was to know that someone couldn’t live without me. Well he ended up cheating on me, on top of a lot of other things, and I did a lot of soul searching these last ~8 months .
I saw this tiktok a while ago about this guy asking his girlfriend to tell him that she couldn’t live without him. Her response was, “I could, and I have, but I don’t want to. I choose to love and live with you.”
It hit me like a freight train. I will never say that to another person in my life – romantic or not. There is such power in knowing you CHOOSE this person to be a part of your life. Because I am strong enough to live without them. I deserve someone who wants to be there. I deserve someone who chooses me, too.
And so do you.