As a child, I didn’t know how to process those feelings. I didn’t have the tools to understand that I wasn’t just experiencing fear, but that fear had become my constant companion. Fear took away my voice. It muzzled me, kept me in a constant state of anxiety. And because of that, I grew up feeling disconnected. I didn’t know how to socialize or form meaningful relationships because I didn’t have the example of healthy connection. I was broken. I was trapped in trauma—both from what I endured and what I witnessed.