“Separating the Fantasy From the Reality”
This helps untangle emotional illusion from lived truth.
Create two columns:
Column 1 — The Fantasy
• The version of them I wanted them to be was…
• I believed the relationship could become…
• I hoped that one day they would…
• I stayed because I wanted to feel…
Column 2 — The Reality
• What actually happened was…
• Most of the time I felt…
• The pattern I kept seeing was…
• My body oftrn felt ..
Then write:
“What hurts is losing the fantasy… not the reality.”
let compassion land — not shame. often felt…