I hate hearing the cliche' saying, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
I say, "What doesn't kill you, can leave you maimed, disabled, and broken - for the remainder of your natural life."
Of course, I've got a dark sense of humor - due to a DEVASTATING betrayal earlier in my life. I completely failed at dealing with it - and it did cause me to go insane, quite literally. I was 19 at the time. I wish I'd been equipped with some better emotional tools at that time in my life but, alas, I was a fool. Many were hurt by my subsequent insanity, and I spent over 13 years locked up in a mental hospital. The judicial supervision continues to this day - over 25 years later (with no end in sight)!!!
I must say that the early betrayal in my life destroyed me, and destroyed the "arc" of my life in many very real, incomprehensible ways. I was/am a changed person from these experiences. Not only do I not trust people, I still expect them to let me down. It's a defense mechanism: if I don't expect anything or get my hopes up, I won't be let down again. It does protect me but, I do love others much more loosely. It's difficult to describe this to others, if they haven't been through it - but total betrayal from "the love of your life" is simply a very difficult experience to survive through. I nearly didn't.
Thanks for sharing this topic. Followed.