Thanks to all the brave women here and the mods for creating this amazing, safe, uplifting place. I won't even go into detail on my LVX (not worth it), suffice to say I've been lurking here for around a year and finally realized what it means to have/expect respect.

This has permeated to so many other areas of my life and I am profoundly changed for the better. Fortunately, I have my own job and independence, making this a fairly easy transition (I know this isn't always easy). But I'm grateful for this new chapter. I only just finished moving out and now I want to lose the 20 lbs I gained in the relationship. Of course, it hasn't been 100% easy and I definitely had to work up the strength to leave. I'm also grief stricken but working through that.

A couple things that really stood out and that I took away specifically from FDS: negging & low effort. I was definitely socialized to expect the minimum, but negging in particular showed, me over time, how subtly toxic the dynamic was and I wasn't being loved or cherished. Negging = a lack of love.

Wishing you all a great holiday!