You didn’t plan to become this version of yourself—it just happened over time. After too many heartbreaks, you’ve become shaped by pain and disappointment. You used to be open-hearted, hopeful, and ready to fall in love. Now, you keep your guard up, surrounded by walls you’ve built to protect yourself. You flinch at the idea of romance, and maybe you don’t even realize how much you’ve changed.
Sadly, this happens to many women who’ve been hurt over and over again. To protect ourselves, our minds create automatic defense mechanisms. Most of the time, we don’t even notice them. Here are some of the most common ones:
1. We Wake Up Skeptical
After everything we’ve been through, it’s hard to believe real love could happen again. Even when someone new shows genuine interest, we doubt it. Maybe a coworker, a neighbor, or a friend of a friend seems kind—but instead of giving it a chance, we convince ourselves it’s too good to be true.
2. True Romance Feels Like a Fairy Tale
As little girls, we believed in happily-ever-after stories like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. We imagined meeting our own Prince Charming one day. But after being hurt so many times, that dream feels unrealistic—something that only exists in stories, not in real life.
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