Braver Collective

It is a heavy reality when our own minds try to convince us that being abused was our fault.

When we start to believe that lie, we shrink. We fold ourselves in. We try to become invisible because we were taught that our pain was an inconvenience or a burden to be managed.

In her poem "Trust," Holly Morgan (she/her) captures a core part of our experience. She writes about the ways we made ourselves the villains before anyone else had to be.

𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭. 𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞.

For many of us, survival looked like hyper-vigilance. It meant looking for everything, all the time, all at once. We studied reactions because we couldn't rely on safety.

But here is the truth we are reclaiming together:

◦ 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭.

◦ 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

◦ 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧.

◦ 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩.

The hardest trust to rebuild isn’t always with the people around us. It is the quiet, shaky work of rebuilding trust within ourselves. It is the process of convincing our bodies that we are finally allowed to exist without apologizing for it and we are safe.

🔗 Tap to read Holly’s full survivor story: https://bravercollective.org/stories/trust
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