You may look at yourself—the version of you who tolerated mistreatment, stayed too long, gave too much, or lost herself trying to be enough—and wonder: “How could someone like that be worthy?” 

But let this truth settle softly in your heart today: Your worth was never destroyed. It was only buried—beneath the hurt, the shame, the fear, and the lies. You were born with worth. You don’t have to earn it back. It was there all along—Even in the moments you felt most broken. Even when your voice was silenced. Even when you forgot how to stand up for yourself. Your worth remained. 

Abuse does not define who you are. What you survived speaks to your strength, and that says far more about you than what they did to you. 

So how do you start healing?

Healing begins when you stop striving to prove your worth—and instead, start gently uncovering it. It’s peeling back the false stories. Letting go of the guilt that was never yours to carry. And remembering this sacred truth: You are already enough. 

Reflection Practice: Worth That Cannot Be Taken 

1. Name 3 qualities you still carry—despite everything. Examples:
   • I still care deeply.
   • I still get back up.
   • I still dream, even if quietly.
2. Write this truth somewhere you’ll see it often:
   “My worth is not up for debate. It is not defined by my pain or my past. I am inherently valuable—just as I am.”
3. Pause. Breathe this in. Let your body receive what your mind may still be learning to believe. 

And now—make this your new reality: There is nothing broken in you that can erase your value. There is nothing you’ve endured that makes you less deserving of love, joy, safety, or peace. 

You are not a problem to be fixed. You are a person to be loved—beginning with loving yourself. 

You don’t need to be more. You just need to remember who you’ve always been. 

Tomorrow: We’ll talk about self-sabotage—how fear of pain can keep us stuck, and how compassion can help us move forward.