The Trauma of Being Dragged Along in a Relationship You Were Never Meant to Be In
There’s a silent and deep kind of heartbreak that happens when you’re led on by someone who knows they don’t want a relationship, a kind of heartbreak that often goes unspoken—but keeps you close anyway. The kind that happens when someone keeps you in their life, knowing they don’t want a real relationship, but still enjoying the benefits of your love, energy, and time.
Maybe it’s out of comfort, convenience, or their own fear of being alone. But for the one being dragged along? It’s confusion, false hope, and emotional whiplash.
They never give you clarity, but they also never let you go.
You’re stuck in the in-between. Not chosen, but not free.
This kind of emotional entanglement can leave lasting trauma. You start second-guessing your worth. You carry anxiety in your chest and sadness in your soul. Over time, depression can creep in as you lose trust in your own intuition, in love, and in people altogether.
The experience can cause emotional trauma that lingers far beyond the relationship itself. You start asking yourself, “Was I too much?” “Not enough?” But the truth is, you were enough—the situation wasn’t.
The wound goes deeper than just rejection. It’s about betrayal—the kind that comes wrapped in affection and half-promises. Being kept in the gray zone conditions your nervous system to expect inconsistency, to chase validation, and to accept crumbs of affection as a full meal.
When someone drags you along, it rewires your nervous system. You live in a constant state of emotional limbo. The inconsistency becomes familiar. You begin to equate chaos with love. The emotional rollercoaster keeps your brain chasing highs, while your heart sinks into depression and your body carries the weight of chronic anxiety.
Healing from this requires real work.
You have to unlearn patterns of attaching to unavailable people. You have to rebuild trust—in yourself and in love. You have to feel the grief, reclaim your power, and shift your inner dialogue from "Why wasn’t I enough?" to “Why did I stay in a space that was never meant for me?” It takes intentional effort—self-reflection, awareness, and unlearning toxic patterns. You have to rewrite the story that was written in the silence, in the unanswered texts, in the promises that never came true.
That’s why the Inspired Warrior Project created a 100 journal prompt workbook—to help you dig deep, explore your emotional wounds, and rewrite your story from a place of empowerment. This isn’t just journaling. It’s self-inquiry. It’s facing your pain and deciding that your healing matters more than their mixed signals.
You deserve peace. You deserve clarity. And you deserve love that chooses you fully.
Your healing starts now.
Join the movement. Become an Inspired Warrior.
Journal launches April 1st, 2025. Join the waitlist and be the first to get their copy, HERE.
