It’s hard to explain, but something changes when you finally walk away from abuse and control.
Not just the external circumstances — the inner world begins to shift too.
And then one day, it starts to show.
💫 The tightness in your jaw loosens.
💫 The weight behind your eyes lifts.
💫 Your smile becomes real — no longer a mask hiding silent grief.
Recently, people have been stopping me in the street to say things like:
“You’re glowing.”
“You look so well.”
“You look… free.”
And they’re right. Something is different.
I’m not pretending anymore.
I’m not performing.
I’m not surviving behind a smile.
Because I’m no longer tolerating a life that drained me.
I’m living now.
🧠 A Psychological Perspective:
This kind of transformation isn’t just cosmetic. It’s neurological. Emotional. Energetic.
For months — or even years — the nervous system stays in a chronic state of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
When you’re in an abusive or controlling environment, your body is constantly scanning for danger. Your brain rewires itself for survival, not peace. You become hypervigilant. Dissociated. Numb.
That “pained look” others saw in me eight months ago? That was trauma.
That was exhaustion.
That was my system screaming quietly for safety.
Now, after months of healing, therapy, rest, and reconnection:
🔹 My nervous system is settling.
🔹 My smile is real.
🔹 I’m clear on what I do and don’t want in my life.
🔹 I’m in touch with reality, not gaslit versions of it.
🔹 And most of all, I’m in touch with myself.
This is what happens when you choose you.
When you walk away from what hurts — even if it’s all you’ve known.
When you stop trying to “fix” what was never yours to carry.
Freedom glows on people.
And if you’ve seen it in someone lately — take it as a sign.
It’s possible for you too.
No more tolerating.
This is living.
#TraumaRecovery #GlowUpAfterAbuse #EmotionalFreedom #HealingJourney #PsychologicalHealing #CPTSDRecovery #LivingNotTolerating #PostTraumaticGrowth #NervousSystemHealing #RealSmileRealLife
— Linda C J Turner
Trauma Therapist | Neuroscience & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner | Advocate for Women’s Empowerment
