I had the same feeling when I made the final decision to leave my ex. For me, like for so many others, I completely lost myself and my health in the end, so when I decided to live and let go of him I thought it was going to be worse and more dreadful than hanging on to him. What surprised me is that I became a completely different person. I began to eat again and started to feel hopeful about what was in front of me. It's like someone took the black rain cloud and put it somewhere else and I got the sunshine!
It's so hard to see when you're in it! I don't regret my choices because I am in an amazing place now, but I wish I would have heard when someone told me life was going to be better without him so long ago. LaTeeDa posted something wonderful about "The Bridge" I think it was called. It kept me going during the last final break. I crossed a bridge to a better life although he wanted to stay on the opposite side. It feels good to know that I made the right decision for myself.
Thanks for your post!