<human>: Can you summarize the given text in a few sentences?

Some context - my girlfriend/Mistress and I are in a 24/7 D/s relationship, but because this is a private matter between us we have not shared it with my friends (except out mutual friends who are similarly into D/s). I know our relationship isn't abusive. We have strict safewords, limitations on when D/s is probably not appropriate, and she cares deeply about my welfare and safety.

Problem is, my friends don't see that. What *they* see is a woman bossing me around in public and me meekly obeying, sometimes preventing me from going to social events without giving reasons why, and when they're over at our house they see her telling me what to do and me obeying. I wear a "day-collar", which is a discreet locking necklace that most BDSM practitioners would recognise, but my friends aren't really into kink so they don't know what it is. I'd like to avoid mentioning our relationship structure if possible, because it's a very private thing that I took a long time to admit to myself that I desire from a relationship, and which has caused me a not-small amount of mental distress when I finally tried to accept it. 

So, either I'd like ways to convince them I'm NOT being abused, or ways to convince them that my Mistress isn't my abuser. I've been in abusive relationships before, and I think that's why my friends are worried. The difference is that, in those relationships, I had no power and no balances. I got no say in the relationship, and it took me a lot of effort to get out. In this relationship, I know I have the right to say no, and that it will be respected, and I know that she loves me deeply and cares about my suggestions, thoughts and feelings. I choose to submit and she chooses to dominate, but we both know that if I really need to, I can stop and we will work it out as equals.
<bot>: My girlfriend and I are in a 24/7 D/s relationship, but my friends think it's abusive. How can I show them that it isn't, without telling them exactly how our relationship works?