This is for the ones who have experienced what I have been through. It's for the kids who have told over and over how much trouble they are. This is for the teens who wish to pursue their dreams only to be told that they are not good enough and never will be. For women who can never do anything right no matter how hard they try. For the men who give their all to those who will not return the same. This is for the people who help drown others in their thoughts so they may see the error of their ways. It is for anyone who needs someone, anyone, to reach out to them and just understand!

Emotional abuse is a controversial topic to say the least. There are still some who do not believe it to be a real epidemic, thinking the only type of abuse that exists is hitting, shoving and beating. Here is the hard truth: Emotional abuse is a poison that is fed to our brains almost daily, making us sick, weak, vulnerable and scared. It strips us of our personality, takes a hammer to the glass cage of our hopes and dreams, and it stays with us long after we have escaped its clutches. It damages us and leaves scars worse than any that can ever be seen.

I understand that there are strong believers in "tough love," but what if tough love is actually just a better connotation for "emotional abuse?" When you are told to think and act a certain way over and over again over time, it becomes drilled in to your system and eventually ingrained into your personality.

"I've been in the doghouse so doggone long that when I get a kiss I think that something's wrong." - Hank Williams Sr.

I identify with this simple line from a truly complex song written decades before my time. The main idea is that when you are being told you are not good enough and feeling that everything you do is wrong all of the time, you believe it and suddenly a compliment means so little to you. If a person tells you "good job," you don't have the ability to believe them. People are going through this every day, being destroyed by the way they are treated. It could be parents, friends, family, significant others putting you down that could lead to your downfall.

For myself, it was a living situation that lasted about three years. At times I felt broken, my self esteem ruined, and my personality shattered, I went from wild, free, brave and headstrong to a scared, trapped, obedient girl forced to shove my own beliefs and desires deep into my subconscious. But as much as they may have wounded it, they could never kill my spirit.

It is now a year after I got out and I believe I am still in recovery. Slowly regaining my personality and growing into a better version of myself. The day I moved out, I remember driving away down my favorite road (which has a speed limit of 55 mph), blasting the song "Livin' in Bliss" by Richie Kotzen, a song about knowing you'll be better after getting out of a bad situation. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

This is why I had to write this. You need to know that there really is a riding off into the sunset in the end. Hold on to your strong will and ride it out. You will get out. You will be able to leave that ball and chain behind. It gets better. The one thing you cannot do is lose your drive, your hope, or your dream; for these are what help to make you strong. Believe in yourself, even when you are told not to.