Real Talk

It's 2 am as I sit here staring at the computer. My heart is heavy, my mind is full. I really could not anticipate how hard this process was going to be. I could not anticipate how hard the Devil was going to attack. One thing I have learned that I think we do not realize is how patient the Devil is. We think he just attacks on a whim when he feels like it. But he does not. He has a plan of attack and he sits back and watches you, he studies you and figures out what your weakness is and just when he can catch you off guard. He waits till you think he has left you alone and then he strikes.

It angers me how patient he can be. How deceptive and torturous he can be. How he waits till you are doing so well to strike. How he knows every inner depth of me and he can get there. How he knows my dislikes and likes. How he knows my weaknesses and my strengths. How he knows the perfect buttons to push to cause the most pain. How he is so quiet, but so loud at the same time.

It angers me how weak I am and that I can still let him get to me so easily. I honestly had no idea how weak I was with this process till tonight. I thought I was going in strong and when he attacked, I would fight him head on. I was wrong guys. I was sadly mistaken. And it angers me that I let him creep up on me and should have seen it coming but I ignored it.

I had a panic attack tonight and for the first time in my life, I could recognize him attacking me. And it wasn't just in my head, it was physically. I could not breathe. I freaked. I got so scared to even sleep and panic ensued. I didn't know what to do, how to handle this and I just gave in and became weak. He saw this and just hammered on me. I was 5 minutes short of going to the ER from how panicked I was and that I couldn't breathe.

I wanted to call my parents. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to fight back. But I just didn't know how. This ensued more panic of not knowing what to do. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't control myself and it freaked me out. My anxiety has gotten so bad, to the point where I can't control my breathing, and it's keeping from sleeping well. It frustrated me that it's gotten this bad. And when I don't have control, anxiety ensues. And control comes as an effect from the abuse. It's issue upon issue upon issue. And its SO freaking frustrating you have no idea.

I am so angry I don't have control of myself, I am so angry as to why this is now an issue. I am so angry that I have such anxiety so quickly into this process and we really haven't dug into anything. As I get closer to Friday knowing this is going to really begin, my anxiety is flaring so badly. I honestly don't know if my anxiety is something I am going to be able to handle on my own. It freaks me out wondering if I am going to need something for it. (No worries, I am going to be e-mailing my therapist tomorrow to see what she thinks of all this, I can not wait till Friday.)

She said a core issue of this is dealing with the shame I have. I completely dismissed that sentence from my mind after she said it. Psht, I am not ashamed. Whatever lady. The next chapter of one of the books I am reading talks about dealing with shame. I have gotten through the part of what shame is. It scares me that I realized I really do have it. And I can't bring myself to open the book to continue reading. It scares me seeing how much thinking about this issue has caused me such anxiety and I don't think I am going to like this part at all. It scares me that this is going to be much harder than I anticipated and that this is just the beginning of what the Devil has up his sleeve. It scares me to be so scared.

At the same time in totally freaking out, I knew God was there. I am still so weak in crying out to him. I couldn't bring myself together to talk to him. I felt shameful. Then once I realized it was the Devil telling me I didn't deserve to talk to him, I let go. I walked around in circles just praying and talking to God until I finally calmed down. I have been listening to Christian music and just singing to Him. Realizing how much he loves me. And I need him to love me so desperately. And I need to stop pretending that I can somehow deserve what I already have. He already loves me, he has already forgiven me, and he is always there regardless of what I did so long ago. I know this, but I keep forgetting it. It's been easy to trust him till this shame thing came up. And I did not realize how deep this shame went and how huge of an issue it is. It seems bigger than God, but I know it isn't. Just feels like it.

It's so hard to let go of the thinking how can someone truly love me, want me, forgive me for what happened if I can't seem to. How can God still love me after all I had done to him? How can he not be ashamed of me? This shame issue is something I do not understand, nor know how to deal with. And clearly a core issue. But despite this one sided thinking of me, part of me know he does love me, just not all of me yet. Letting down the most precious person to you in the world in one of the most horrible ways, is so damaging.

I am writing this more so to chronicle this moment of how I feel. To  be able to look back in 5 months and see where I was less than a week into this process. To capture the raw truth and honesty of this process. To not only let myself, but to let others know how heart wrenching and scary this process is. To get a glimpse into the mind of someone dealing with this, so that maybe you might understand one day if it happens to someone you know.

This song speaks volumes of how I feel right now.