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🪞The Stranger in the Mirror: When Love Leads to Self-Alienation
Losing Yourself in Relationships: How to Keep Your Identity and Rediscover Yourself
These words have stayed with me ever since I walked the painful path of self-alienation. It’s a harsh truth many of us experience in relationships: we lose ourselves in love, we only reflect in the other person, and we forget what truly matters to us.
Do you remember the moment when you first felt butterflies in your stomach? 🦋 The world seemed brighter, and everything felt possible. But eventually, almost imperceptibly, a trade begins: You give up your dreams, put your desires aside, and exchange your independence for a seemingly harmonious “we.”
This shift often happens subtly — one compromise here, an adjustment there. You think you’re being generous and understanding. But deep inside, you feel an emptiness, a restlessness. You ask yourself: Who am I if I’m not someone’s partner?
I’ve walked this path myself. I pushed my life into the background to fit into my partner’s. I neglected my passions, saw my friends less. I became a stranger in my own life, a reflection of someone else.
