5 things I learned from 3 years of silence

For three years, I said nothing.
No LinkedIn. No Facebook. No Instagram.
Not a word. Not a post. Nothing.

People thought I’d gone.
Some probably didn’t even notice.
And in a way — I hadn’t just gone quiet. I’d disappeared.

I told myself I was protecting my family. Protecting myself. Waiting for justice.
But here’s the truth:
Silence didn’t protect me.
It punished me.

It stripped away my confidence.
It corroded my identity.
It convinced me that my voice didn’t matter.

I’ve learned that silence is a prison.
And speaking — even shakily, even to one person — is survival.

💡 What I know now:
Strength isn’t about holding it all together.
Strength is about surviving when you’re broken.

Why I’m sharing this now

This is the first entry in my Stripped Back Journal — a space where I’ll be sharing the truths I wish I’d had during the hardest years of my life.

It’s not polished theory. It’s lived experience: betrayal, silence, numbness, and the slow process of rebuilding.

I hope by laying it bare here, someone else feels less alone in their own silence — and maybe finds the courage to speak sooner than I did.

This post was first shared on LinkedIn, where the response showed me that people connect with truth, not masks. You can join the conversation here.