From Survival to Strength
Surviving a relationship with strong narcissistic traits leaves more than emotional memories.

I want you to hear me: You have within you the most powerful and beautiful light and love that waits to unveil itself. It will come with strength and tenderness, with resolve and patience, power and compassion. When you allow yourself to stand in your pain, to allow through the vulnerability to open the doors to your healing, you hold the power to unlock love, beauty, joy, and kindness interlacing with power, strength, focus, motivation, and confidence.
It is often through our darkest moments that we begin to follow the smallest shimmer of light. Not a floodlight. Not a dramatic breakthrough. Just a quiet flicker that whispers, there is more.
When that shimmer begins to expand, it can feel unsettling. Many people are surprised to discover that healing does not only bring relief - it brings power. And power can feel unfamiliar if you have lived in survival.
We become accustomed to suffering. To coping. To functioning while carrying quiet pain. Survival becomes our identity.
So when brightness begins to rise within you - clarity, strength, self-love - it may initially feel grandiose or uncomfortable. You may question it. You may want to dim it.
But that brightness is not ego.
It is awakening.
You are not transforming into someone else.
You are reclaiming yourself.
I regularly witness how deeply people struggle to say the simplest truths to themselves:
“I love myself.”
“I am beautiful.”
“I am intelligent.”
There are often tears. Trembling. A visible internal battle. And then something shifts - the body softens, the breath deepens, the face relaxes.
That is not weakness. That is healing.
You are not defined by your suffering.
You are strengthened by it.
You are everything you have ever searched for.
You are power and love.
Sue Leppan is a life, transformation and holistic wellness coach based in Sandbaai, Hermanus. Providing therapy for a range of challenges, Sue specialises in targeting and dealing with emotional trauma, self-doubt, depression, stagnation and self-centring. Whether you need help with personal issues ...
View ProfileXplorio is your local connection allowing you to find anything and everything about a town.
Read MoreSurviving a relationship with strong narcissistic traits leaves more than emotional memories.
Every person carries trauma within them.
In our longing for a supportive, loving relationship, many of us unknowingly place responsibility...
Do you walk into an embrace openly and freely - or do you walk in already wondering if it will be received?
If you find yourself longing for deeper connection - with yourself or with others...
One of the most searched topics in relationships today is building or rebuilding trust.