Dr. Jameca CooperForensic Psychology Consultant, Emergence Psychological Services · Board Certified Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Psychology Consultant

Leaving wasn’t giving up. It was choosing me. #selfhealingcommunity #empoweredwomen #mentalhealth

22 May 2025 · 1 min

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In this personal testimony, the speaker discusses the concept of true self‑care as the willingness to walk away from environments—whether work or intimate relationships—that undermine one’s well‑being. She shares her own experience of ending a nearly fifteen‑year marriage because of persistent gaslighting, a lack of accountability, and the realization that her needs would never be met. Emphasizing that staying would compromise her ability to be a good parent to her sons, she frames the decision as an act of self‑preservation and responsible parenting. The monologue concludes with a call for listeners to reflect on people in their own lives who might benefit from similar self‑care actions.

Chapters

Let's talk about the real self-care. Stories of women who have walked away from work environments or relationships to prioritize themselves, because that's the real self-care. What you see as the long-term goal, not just this moment or this week. Ding, ding, ding. I walked away from a long-term marriage, a marriage of almost 15 years because of that very thing. I felt that I could no longer be myself and I was sick of dealing, with the other person's BS behavior, gaslighting, you name it, just a lack of accountability. And I realized that in that relationship I would never get my needs met because I wasn't getting my needs met. So I'm one of those examples of a woman that walked away to prioritize themselves because I care about myself, I care about my life, and I knew I couldn't be a good parent to my sons as long as I stayed in that situation. So check, check, think about who you know.