For many years I thought I was alone. What I mean by that is I always felt I could never ask anyone for help or advice-and I never did. Not asking for help or advice was one of the reasons I stayed in an abusive relationship for so long.

The reason I never sought help was that I was ashamed. It was not until years later I realized I had nothing to be ashamed of-he did. When I finally left the only way I was able to stay out of the relationship was to ask for help. And what I found was that no one made any judgments about me or what I had been through, they just helped me stay out of that relationship.

Don’t let shame stop you from getting the help you need.