Toxic relationships are tough. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve been taken advantage of because of your open heart. You feel like you give and give, and others keep taking from you until you’ve forgotten who you are. Trust me, I can relate.

 

I was raised in a family of narcissists. I wasn’t seen for who I was and grew up feeling insignificant. As a result, I started seeking relationships with abusive people who could not give me the love I desperately wanted. It was a repeating pattern that had me hopelessly searching for something to fill the emptiness.

 

I tried to fill that void with alcohol, relationships, success, and approval. At my lowest point, I woke up with my face on the Chicago sidewalk one morning because I was too drunk to walk home the night before. What I realized at that moment was that nothing outside of me could heal me or make me feel complete.

 

I had to do the work to change myself because I had to take myself everywhere. “Wherever I go, there I am.” That led me to a journey of self-discovery and healing.

 

I traveled the world and worked with a lot of well-known personal development leaders. I immersed myself in psychological work, mindfulness, and energy work. I discovered that what I was looking for out in the world was the love I could only find in myself.