Stage 3:  Grief

Red phoenix rising, wings spread, on white background.

You’re not mourning who they were.

You’re mourning who you thought they were.

It wasn’t all bad, and that’s what makes this stage so hard. You miss the good moments. The highs. The hope. But now you know those moments were part of the manipulation. You're grieving the dream—not the reality.

WHAT COULD BE MOURNING


  • The idea of a future together
  • The fantasy version of them
  • The love you realize was fake
  • The version of yourself you gave up to make it work

HOW TO GRIEVE IT


  • Let yourself cry
  • Stop gaslighting yourself into thinking “it wasn’t that bad”.  GOING BACK IS NOT AN OPTION
  • Write out what you thought this relationship was & would be
  • Honor the part of you that just wanted to be loved

HERE'S WHAT MADE YOU VULNERABLE

Black square with a white down arrow.
Double quotation marks.

Letting go doesn’t mean it didn’t matter. It means you matter more  now.