Toxic

I was talking with a friend recently and we were talking about some of the things going on in our lives. We talked about how the people who were supposed to be our supporters and supposed to love us had been hurting us.

This is a reality for us everyday. As women we confront this issue in our personal lives, professional lives, gaming communities, and families. Often we find ourselves hurt the most by the ones we love and care for the most.

When we encounter these situations it is difficult to know how to respond. Some women really just impress me and are great at handling those situations. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those women. I believe as women it is easy to find ourselves making excuses for the people that hurt us.

I believe also that sometimes it is easier to make those excuses then to confront the issue. Because sometimes when we stand up for ourselves as women we find ourselves being called names such as Bitch, Cunt, and so many more names. When we do not sit back and allow ourselves to be victims or to cower and let that person continue an unacceptable behavior, we become the bad guy. These are toxic people.

However, note that I said sometimes. I shared with all of you recently that I have been going through some difficult things. Confronting the people who were hurting me did not have a happy ending.

However, I do know this, the people that really love me, the people that matter the most. If I go to them and say, Hey you’re hurting me when you do this, they will respond positively. They will not lash out at me because I told them, I’m not okay with this.

Ladies, through all of the stress and pain here is what I have learned:

I deserve to be treated well and I have the right to expect that I am treated well. I also have the right to express myself and how I am feeling and to remove toxic people from my life and that doesn’t make me a bitch or a cunt. It makes me a confident woman who respects herself, even if others refuse to do so.