How to overcome trust issues:

A thread.

·Admit that you're afraid of intimacy and the hurt that love can cause.

·Accept that the defense mechanisms you have in place are not decreasing your trust issues, instead they're increasing your inability to trust others. It's time to slowly replace them with healthier tools.

·Connect with your inner-child.

·Understand that your childhood might have influenced the fears you have about betrayal, abandonment and being manipulated by others. However, you don't have to get lost in the past to start feeling better now.

·Accept that no one can guarantee that they won't ever cause you pain nor leave you.

·Observe how all the precautions you're taking to not feel hurt by others still lead to some sort of pain that you inflict on yourself. Get it? No one can promise to not hurt you, not even you.

·If your caregivers didn't give you stability and security at a young age, your goal will now be to create a base that is solid when it comes to your needs. You're aiming to add predictability in your life.

·It starts with you, not others.

·Build trust, not just in your connections with others but in the relationship you have with yourself, that is your foundation.

·Have tools or outlets for honest communication. Whether you journal, record audio notes or speak to someone about how you truly feel.

·Have your back, accept to build relationships slowly. Know your triggers, know your boundaries and express them clearly. If you close off when it's time to communicate, go back to Step 6: build honest communication with yourself first.

·Have pillars, you need a support system.

·Practice communicating directly by using the tools of nonviolent communication:

·Accept that relationships come with the risk of being let down. Trust in your own discernment.

·Take modest risks. Give yourself room to be vulnerable, without oversharing or pushing too hard, and then see how it goes. Little by little, then repeat. Establish a healthy rhythm.

·Because you took Step 11 seriously, you now have friends (pillars to your stability) to who you can turn to for a second opinion. If something triggers your trust issues, you know to ask for clear guidance.

·Always voice how you feel and don't forget to ask questions.

·Work on your self-worth. The more you trust in your own abilities and the more you're satisfied with who you are, the harder it is to entertain who and what doesn't lead to peace, serenity and clarity.

·Self-esteem, vulnerability and your inner-child all walk hand in hand.

·Therapy can help.

·By now, you know that love can hurt very much, but you are still standing. Most likely, there will be instances where you will feel pain, but it won't end you. Accept this.

·Forgive @sayitvalencia for any typo in this thread and let her get away with it.