A decade ago I was crying most days. I believed it was me.

That I was hormonal, too sensitive, not enough. I felt ashamed for struggling, especially because, on the surface, my life looked good.

I did what many people do when they cannot explain what is wrong.

I tried to fix myself. I ended up on antidepressants, convinced that my feelings were a personal failure rather than a sign that things needed to change. Inside, I felt deeply alone. I did not know how to make things change, or even where to begin.

What I did not understand at the time was that my body was responding to overwhelm. To long standing patterns of feeling unsafe, unseen, and responsible for keeping the peace.

Alongside this, I was living with chronic fatigue and multiple autoimmune conditions. I was shattered.

Slowly, it became impossible to ignore the connection. I began to see how my health, my nervous system, and the relationships around me were not separate issues. I noticed how early experiences of not feeling good enough, of being afraid to upset others, of needing to stay small or careful, had shaped my adult relationships. That walking on eggshells felt familiar and over giving felt safer than saying no.

This is not about blaming anyone. It is about acknowledging how our experiences, as children and then as adults, shape both our health and the relationships we manage.