From Pain to Power: How I Rebuilt My Life (and Business) After Leaving Abuse
- Aug 8, 2025
- 3 min read
By Cat Dunn
The moment everything changed for me, was the day I left a 3.5 year abusive relationship.
On the surface, my life looked great. I was running my own business, living in a nice apartment with a man who loved me, and building a brand new life on the other side of the world. The outside world saw a confident woman chasing her dreams. What they didn’t see was the control. The emotional manipulation. The rules I had to live by or risk punishment. The slow, steady erosion of my self-worth.
I became a shell of my former self - saying yes when I wanted to say no, ignoring my intuition, shrinking myself to keep the peace. The person I was before this relationship has disappeared. She was replaced by someone who walked on eggshells, couldn’t eat or sleep, and was barely holding herself together, let alone her business.
Leaving was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. My business collapsed. I was homeless. I lost friends. And I almost lost myself completely. But I made a promise: if I could just get through this, I would build a life that would (finally) be mine; a life I didn’t have to escape from.
And that’s exactly what I did.
I started again. Not from where I’d left off, but from somewhere entirely new. I didn’t rebuild - I reinvented. I revived my business on my terms by saying no more to overdelivering, people-pleasing, a lack of boundaries, and working with clients who didn’t align with my values. I focused on building streamlined systems, providing strategic support, and offering new services to help more women.
These changes led to me winning a business award and being featured in the media. I built my OBM community to 100+ members. And the most powerful shift came when I launched Life After I Left, a live speaker’s event and podcast platform for women to share their own stories of survival, healing, and triumph.
Because, here’s the thing - I’m not the only one who’s gone through the worst time of their life.
There’s so many women carrying invisible stories. Stories of trauma, loss, betrayal, or violence. And yet we show up. We smile. We work. We build businesses and care for others and hold it all together. But we’re doing it in silence. Life After I Left was created to change that. To say: you’re not broken, you’re not alone, and you're allowed to have a life - and business - of your dreams..
For me, being “unstoppable” isn’t about constant hustle or chasing the next big goal. It’s about choosing yourself, even when it’s messy. It’s about standing in your truth, even when your voice shakes. It’s about building something solid; using your scars as a blueprint and not feeling like you have to hide them.
I lead differently now. I work with women coaches and creatives as an Online Business Manager. I support them to not only scale their business, but to help them stay in business in a way that supports their life, energy, and wellbeing. I’ve learned the hard way that your business should never cost you your safety, your health, or your sanity. And it certainly shouldn’t cost you your identity.
So what would I tell the version of me who almost gave up?
I’d tell her this: One day, you’re going to turn all this pain into power. You’re going to help other women rise. And you’re going to build a life that is finally yours.
You’re not just going to survive; you’re going to thrive. And you’re leading the way for other women to do the same.
Connect With Cat
Photo credit - Belle Verdiglione
Comments