The Cumulative Effect: Why It Wasn’t “Just One Thing”

I explore one of the most disorienting realities of surviving an emotionally abusive relationship: the way each incident is treated like it exists in isolation—when in reality, it all added up.

I share my personal experience of slowly realizing that what felt like “stress” was actually a sustained pattern of emotional harm. 

I walk through the subtle signs—like anxiety, insomnia, self-doubt, and emotional shutdown—that build up over time and keep survivors stuck in cycles of self-blame and confusion.

This episode offers validation for the exhaustion you feel, clarity on how abusers avoid accountability by isolating incidents, and a powerful reminder: if you’re starting to see the pattern, you already have everything you need to begin walking away from it.