Spiritual Unburdening

For many years, I withheld my true feelings from people who delighted in verbally and physically abusing me.  Raised as a Christian, I was taught to turn the other cheek, so I rarely reacted to hateful treatment from family, friends, and associates.  This left me open to a good deal of health-related problems that could have easily been avoided if I had simply opened my mouth and responded in my defense.  

Instead of verbally responding, I would often avoid the perpetrator by blocking their calls.  This did not solve the issue because I replayed their abusive comments in my mind repeatedly.  This led to low self-esteem and depression.  I had to learn constructive ways to deal with the anger I harbored within my psyche. Anger is a natural response to abusive treatment, and long-term repression can lead to a premature death.