Why I Hit Back: A Survivor’s Boundaries Are Sacred

 

Why I Hit Back: A Survivor’s Boundaries Are Sacred

There’s a moment in every survivor’s life when they decide: never again.

Not another betrayal.
Not another slap.
Not another violation of their body or spirit.

My moment came in 2024—months after surviving years of emotional abuse, trauma, chronic illness, and even a near-death ICU experience during COVID-19.

A New Marriage, A Deep Old Pain

I got married in April 2024 with hope in my heart and healing in progress. Like any woman, I carried with me not just dreams, but scars—both emotional and physical. One of those scars was from my battle with COVID-19 Delta in 2021. My lungs collapsed. Only 5% of them were working. I spent time in the ICU. Doctors had to drain fluid from my lungs, and to this day, I still feel needle-like pain in my upper left back.

So, I did something simple:
I told my husband, gently and openly—“Please never touch that part of my back. It still hurts.”

I thought I was safe. I thought he understood.

But instead, he told his mother.

And she… hit me. Twice. On that exact spot.

Deliberately. Knowing it hurt.
She weaponized my pain.
She used my medical trauma to humiliate and physically assault me.

I Hit Back. And I Don’t Regret It.

Some people will read this and say:
“You shouldn’t have hit your mother-in-law.”
“She’s older.”
“She’s your husband’s mother.”

But let me ask you this:

• When was my pain respected?

• When was my trauma honored?

• What kind of mother slaps a woman on her ICU wound just to exert power?

Let me be clear:
I didn’t start the fight.
I ended it.

I hit back because no one gets to abuse me anymore.
Not a man. Not a mother-in-law. Not society.
Never again.

A Woman’s Body Is Not a Battleground

I spent years being the “quiet one,” the one who compromised, the one who forgave, the one who broke down silently. I tried to be the “good girl” even as my body fell apart—cysts, typhoid, bladder issues, COVID, and TB fears.

But that day, in 2024, I did something I never did before:
I stood up for myself with my full voice and full strength.

That was not just a slap.
That was justice.
That was a scream from the ICU version of me.
That was a survivor refusing to be hurt again.

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To Every Woman Reading This:

You are allowed to set boundaries.
You are allowed to defend yourself.
You are allowed to say no more—even if it makes others uncomfortable.

Because your body is sacred.
Because your trauma is real.
Because your boundaries are not optional.

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If my story echoes with your heart, know this—you’re not alone. You’re not wrong. And you’re not weak for fighting back.