Although it's sad to say, almost everybody experiences a toxic relationship at least once in their life. Whether it's a boyfriend or girlfriend, a parent, a friend, or a sibling. Whether it's physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect. It usually comes out of nowhere and when you least expect it.
You may not notice the damage it's causing or the harm it's really doing, or your options to leave are scarce so you feel forced to stay, or you turn a blind eye because you love them and you are one who doesn't give up.
No matter the circumstances, you come to a point where we realize your only option is to leave — to run and never look back. We learn to understand that no matter how much we love the person and no matter how hard it will be to walk away, it is for the best — the best for us.
So once you find the courage to walk away, never look back. Every bone in you may be aching to turn back to the thing you once found comfort in, but one day, I promise, you will find much better and much healthier comfort in something or someone else.
It may be hard, but you'll survive.
Although some of these quotes may be taken out of context, take the message as you will. Each quote means something to somebody else. Here's the many times that Grey's Anatomy taught you a little something about letting go and moving on.
Leaving
“So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breath in. Breath out. And decide.” -Meredith Grey
“You didn’t love her. You just didn’t want to be alone. Or maybe, maybe she was just good for your ego. Or, or maybe she made you feel better about your miserable life, but you didn’t love her, because you don’t destroy the people you love.” -Callie Torres. (This quote is referencing the person you walked away from.)
“You broke her. You called her ordinary. You told her time and time again that nothing she does ever is good enough. Every good thing she is happened despite you.” -Derek Shepard. (This quote is referencing the person you walked away from.)
“You want to know what happened to me? You. You happened to me.” -Meredith Grey
“I know now that I’m good enough not to deserve this. Not to have to feel like this. Not to love you so much that I almost hate you. I deserve someone who will stay.” -Alex Karev
“I don’t know why we all hang onto something we know we’re better off letting go of. It’s like we’re scared to lose what we don’t even really have. Some of us say we’d rather have something than absolutely nothing, but the truth is, to have it halfway is harder than not having it at all.” -Meredith Grey
Moving on
“Letting go is the easy part. It’s the moving on that’s painful. So sometimes we fight it, trying to keep things the same. Things can’t stay the same though. At some point, you just have to let go, move on. Because no matter how painful it is, it’s the only way we grow.” -Meredith Grey
“You can have the worst crap happen to you and you can get over it. All you gotta do is survive.” -Alex Karev
“We can start over, every day. We get second chances to become who we’ve always wanted to be. It's never too late to change."
“There comes a point where it all becomes too much. When we get too tired to fight anymore. So we give up. That’s when the real work begins. To find hope where there seems to be absolutely none at all.” -Christina Yang
“He took something from me. He took little pieces of me, little pieces over time, so small I didn’t even notice, you know? He wanted me to be something I wasn’t, and I made myself into what he wanted. I lost myself for a long time. And now that I’m finally me again, I can’t.” -Christina Yang
"When we follow our hearts, when we choose not to settle; it's funny, isn't it? A weight lifts, the sun shines a little brighter, and for a brief moment, we find peace." -Meredith Grey
“Change — we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can’t stop it from coming. We either adapt to change, or we get left behind. And It hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But here’s the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Sometimes change is everything.” -Meredith Grey
“Some very broken part of me still loves you. But let me be very clear, I am never speaking to you again.” -Jenny
“I make no apologies for how I chose to repair what you broke.” - Meredith Grey
“Sometimes the future changes quickly and completely and we’re left with only the choice of what to do next. We can choose to be afraid of it, to stand there trembling not moving, assuming the worst that can happen. Or, we can step forward into the unknown and assume it will be brilliant.” -Christina Yang
“Forgive and forget —that’s what they say. It’s good advice, but it’s not very practical. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt the back. When someone wrongs us, we we want to be right. Without forgiveness, old scores are never settled, old wounds never heal. And the most we can hope for, is that one day we’ll be lucky enough to forget.” -Meredith Grey
Healing
“What’s broken can be mended, what’s hurt can be healed. No matter how dark it gets, the sun’s gonna rise again.” -Meredith Grey
“Don’t spend all your time wondering what you are, or who you like, or whether it’s right for you or wrong for you. Just let yourself be happy.” -Callie Torres
“We do our very best but sometimes it’s just not good enough. We buckle our seat belts, we wear a helmet, and we stick to the lighted paths. We try to be safe. We try so hard to protect ourselves, but it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference 'cause when the bad things come, they come out of nowhere. The bad things come suddenly with no warning, but we forget that sometimes that’s how the good things come, too.” -Meredith Grey
“It can be scary to find out you’ve been wrong about something. But we can’t be afraid to change our minds, to accept that things are different, that they’ll never be the same, for better or for worse. We have to be willing to give up what we used to believe. The more we’re willing to accept what is and not what we thought, we’ll find ourselves exactly where we belong.” -Meredith Grey
“That’s how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can’t breathe, that’s how you survive. By remembering that, one day, somehow, impossibly, you won't feel this way. It won’t hurt this much.” -Izzy Stevens
“It doesn’t matter how tough we are, trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home, changes our lives. Trauma messes everybody up. But, maybe that’s the point. All the pain and the fear and the crap. Maybe moving forward, it’s what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up before we can step it up.” -Alex Karev
"Don’t let fear keep you quiet. You have a voice, so use it. Speak up. Raise your hands. Shout your answers. Make yourself heard. Whatever it takes, just find your voice, and when you do, fill the damn silence.” -Meredith Grey
"When we follow our hearts, when we choose not to settle; it's funny, isn't it? A weight lifts, the sun shines a little brighter, and for a brief moment, we find peace." -Meredith Grey
“Hell is behind me. It’s in my rear-view mirror. I’m not going back” -Alex Karev
Remembering who you are
“Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of nature. Be better than anyone here, and don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. You’re on your own. Be on your own.” -Christina Yang
"I'm a good man in a storm." -Arizona
“Don’t let what he wants eclipse what you need. He is very dreamy, but he is not the sun, you are.” -Christina Yang
“At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.” -Meredith Grey
“There’s an end to every storm. Once all the trees have been uprooted, once all the houses have been ripped apart, the wind will hush, the clouds will part, the rain will stop. The sky will clear in an instant. And only then, in those quiet moments after the storm, do we learn who was strong enough to survive it.” -Meredith Grey
Walk and breath. It may be the toughest thing you've yet to face, but I promise, it will end up being the best. Do your best, be your best. Be you, for you. Love yourself enough to know the love you deserve.
