Last summer I lost my chosen family.
I was really upset. I spent a few days dealing with logistics and trying to finish the things I was supposed to finish. After that I had cleared my schedule to do GISHWHES. But I didn’t really do GISHWHES. Instead I sat around in my living room and stared at stuff. Oh, and I broke up with someone. Then I got a not-very-nice email while shopping for luggage at Marshall’s, and I felt like I might have a panic attack so I went home without buying anything. And then I went to the UK.
When I got back from the UK, I was numb. All my emotions felt muted. Even when I was spending time with people I cared about, I felt like there was this new and unfathomable distance between us. I went to parties and stuff because there were parties and stuff on my calendar. I made plans to hang out with people because I needed new friends and I needed the friends I still had, and friendship doesn’t just spontaneously happen. But I felt like I was going through the motions and waiting for time to pass.
I was numb for months.
MONTHS.
It felt like years.
I wondered if this was just the way I was going to be from now on.
I wondered how I could seem the same on the outside when I felt completely alien on the inside.
I wondered if I’d ever be able to trust my own judgment.
And then the numbness began to slowly fade. That took awhile too.
And now it’s mostly gone, except when it isn’t, and without the numbness to protect me I’m crying in bathrooms, and I understand why I had to be numb for that time. Because this has been really hard.
At some point a few years ago I thought, well, I couldn’t choose my given family, and that was unfortunate, but now I could have a chosen family of friends so everything was going to be fine.
But everything was NOT fine. Things fell apart. Physical boundaries were violated, emotional boundaries were violated, my words were dropping into a void, and I realized my life hadn’t changed as much as I had hoped. I still didn’t matter the way I wanted to matter.
In my darkest moments this fall I felt I had failed completely and utterly. And I told myself sternly that even if I had, I was not allowed to give up.
I remember writing blasé blog posts in the early years of this blog about how I had been a people pleaser but I was going to change, and how much healthier it would be to not be a people pleaser anymore. What I didn’t know back then is that being a people pleaser is a really effective defense mechanism. And without it? Well, without it, I had to face the painful truth.
Without it, I couldn’t always turn everything back on myself. Without it, I couldn’t keep making excuses for other people’s behavior. Without it, I started setting reasonable boundaries and then standing back to watch the fireworks, instead of not doing it so I could tell myself that if I just did it, everything would be fine. I got to see that sometimes people just do and say shitty things, and there is nothing I can do about it except communicate as clearly as possible, take care of myself, and try to be kind but firm. Especially firm.
I’ve felt like I’ve been hip-deep in bullshit for months. And yet at the same time, I realize that until now, I’ve been nose-deep and barely able to breathe. Changing this has perhaps been the hardest thing I’ve done.
I haven’t written directly about what happened last summer before now because I was worried about what you would think. I was worried about what everyone would think. I was worried that somehow by talking about it, I’d make it even worse. But lately, as I am able to see what’s going on around me more clearly, I don’t care as much as I thought I did. And if I have to choose between caring what you think and writing about what is true, I’ll choose writing about what is true. That’s who I am. That’s what matters to me.
And lately, I have come to realize that maybe, just maybe, I have another chosen family. They don’t look the way I thought they would. They’re scattered all over the place, and they’re not all friends with each other, and they’re very different from one another too. They are the people I trust, or am coming to trust. They are the people who listen. They are the people who respond to boundary setting with respect and patience. They are the people who remind me in a hundred small ways I am not alone.
Last summer I lost my chosen family. But coming out of the numbness now, I see that I am closer to finding myself.
I think this is the most personally revealing post I’ve ever read on you blog. I’m proud of you.
Thank you. And thanks for giving me the best Facebook tagline ever. 🙂
That description you wrote about how you’ve felt numb, muted and disconnected? That’s exactly how I feel when I’m depressed. I hate it. And I hate that you feel or have felt that way, too.
I think it’s a fairly common response to trauma as well. And yeah, it’s a really weird feeling.
Solidarity, Amy. It takes amazing courage to be true to yourself. Keep being amazing.
Thank you so much. 🙂
Wow. This was intense and profound. Thank you so much for sharing. I don’t think I could ever be so open and revealing.
It’s an acquired skill, at least for me.
I so appreciate your honesty and bravery. You inspire me to be more honest and brave in my own life. Thank you.
Thanks so much for commenting. 🙂
I don’t know you, but you have written a very brave piece. Hang in there!
I’ll do my best!
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Interestingly, I met you in the midst of this and I’m really enjoying getting to know the “you” you are now.
I think this was an ideal to meet me, in fact! 😉
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