Holly Riordan

When you’re a quiet girl, others are surprised when you speak your mind. They’re shocked to learn that they are unable to take advantage of you. They thought you were nice — and to them, nice means a pushover.

Some people are never going to treat you right. No matter how hard you try to impress certain people, there are humans who are never going to change. They are never going to love you the way you deserve.

It’s hard to put your mental health first. Even if you’re trying to treat yourself with more kindness, even if you’re putting effort into becoming a healthier person, there are going to be obstacles in your way.

“This is my anxious mind speaking.” When you’re anxious, acknowledge it.

Don’t trick yourself into believing you’re unlovable because someone ended a relationship with you. You could dwell on the fact that they walked away, that they decided you weren’t what they needed — but that’s not the whole story.

Even though you want to succeed, even though you have big dreams for yourself, you don’t want to push yourself so hard that you burn out.

You might feel bad about yourself because you’re always the one who cares more. You keep getting trapped in one-sided relationships where you offer so much more than you’re given in return.

They want to spend every second of their time with you. Early on in the relationship, this might feel romantic. Especially since you want to spend as much time with them as possible, too.

People who refuse to tell you the full story. If someone refuses to give you a direct answer whenever you ask question, you’re never going to know what to think.

There’s no way to guarantee that you’ll find love. But you’ll have a much better chance if you’re doing these six things: You’re being honest with yourself (and the people around you) about your emotions.

Stay single until you find someone who appreciates all the sweet gestures you do throughout the relationship.

Almost relationships leave you in limbo. You never know what to expect from this other person. Are they going to text you cute messages today and make you feel like a relationship is on the horizon?

You can love someone you never dated because you don’t have to date in order to develop a deep connection with someone. You don’t have to date in order to kiss and share other intimate moments.

Sometimes, cutting contact is the only way you’re going to get over an ex or a crush. Sometimes, you have to remove them from your phone if you want to work toward healing your heart.

Sometimes, listening to sad love songs will keep you in a bad mood for longer than necessary. Sometimes, reading through old messages will tempt you to text them again even though you should stay away.

If you want to give up on something because it’s bringing you too much stress or your dreams have changed, then don’t feel guilty about saying goodbye. Your dreams are allowed to change.

Toxic loves are so hard to leave because you know this person isn’t all bad. Even though this person treats you terribly half of the time, they’re an angel on earth the other half of the time.

They’re comfortable spending time alone. They won’t need you to shower them in attention every hour of the day. In fact, they will value your time apart.