Is it OK to say I’m broken?

For years I’ve tried to make light of how broken I feel. Often having banter with male friends, this would just feel like joking (is this going along to get along?). When I’d do this with my female friends they’d either fall silent or show me pity, and pity may be the single worst thing anyone can do for me.

Recently I was talking to a friend who’s been on the trauma healing path for some time. We had a deep conversation about…