[Serious] People who disappeared to start a new life, what is your story?

I guess I really didn't vanish, just escaped. My family was controlling. Throughout my life I was belittled (told I was ugly, or weird or useless) and easily controlled because of the ensuing low self worth. The physical abuse ended when I was a preteen, but the controlling and guilt inducing behavior did not and it led to anxiety, depression and panic attacks in my young adulthood.

I had made plans with a student I had met online to move in together thousands of miles away. It sounds like it would have been a disaster, but it worked out geat. We've been married for a few years, I got diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, got successful treatment and have been able to work without panic attacks.

My relationship with my old family is better because I have learned to create boundaries, but I haven't seen them in person since I left and don't really plan to include them into my life so fully again. I really want to protect my new little family from them.

/r/AskReddit Thread