The Protector is The Prisoner

When you let go of what feels like a protective measure (which you identify with / made a part of you), one you created from an early (real or perceived) trauma or abuse, you realize, and then can see clearly that to have continued on with the protection, even after the source is gone, you see that YOU were now the one holding yourself prisoner.  You have gone from protector to prisoner. And to be fully alive, it needed to be freed.