My Abuse Story: Part One

The main reason I created a YouTube channel after considering it for years was because I wanted to talk about toxic and abusive relationships. They are unfortunately too common and do not discriminate based on age, gender, race, or social class. By talking about this subject openly, I hope that I can help reduce the stigma and shame surrounding it and foster more awareness and discussion. Yes, this is a very personal and difficult story to tell, but I am not ashamed. I was able to leave, and I want others to know that they are not alone in their experiences and they can also move on successfully. I decided that the best starting point for this discussion would be for me to tell my own story. This is a long story, and I can't go into every detail, so I have split the story into four parts: how we met, how things started to go awry, when it became truly abusive, and how I eventually left. This is the story of how we met. I try my best to tell this story true to how I would have told it after we first started dating: in a happy, optimistic and humorous manner. Abusive relationships don't start off abusive; they begin happy and loving like any other relationship. There are always early red flags to look out for, however, and after I finish telling this story I will go back and point them out. Throughout this series I will mention mistakes I made and things I overlooked. Trust me, I know I made dumb decisions and I promise you, my mistakes were made abundantly clear to me. But that's ok. People make mistakes. Mistakes don't make you a bad person; they help you grow and learn. Hopefully my mistakes can help others learn about relationships and how to find a healthy one. Resource for domestic abuse: http://www.thehotline.org 1-800-799-7233 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Ashleyalban94 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ash.ley.alban/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/ashleyalban Intro Music: Alvy - Alchimie, Pt. 2 [Majestic Color] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qgo7NWf87A)