Hope is not naïve. It serves a purpose. But hope becomes dangerous when it keeps you exposed to what continues to wound you. When safety has been repeatedly denied, ignored, or undermined, continuing to negotiate does not make you compassionate. It makes you vulnerable.

Survivors do not delay leaving because they are weak. They delay because leaving is complex and dangerous. When leaving finally becomes possible, it is because clarity—not impulse—has arrived.

At that point, continuing to speak does not build understanding—it drains the nervous system. Silence emerges not because there is nothing to say, but because saying more would require self-betrayal.