When I was a kid I lived with my dad and stepmom and visited my biological mother every two weekends. During the summer I would go to my biological mom’s house for one month. When I was around 12 years old I went to my mom’s house for the one month in the summer. During that time, my stepmom got my dad, my half brother, and her parents, took them to Sears, and had a family portrait done. She then framed those photos and had them displayed in the house.
Imagine looking at the family portrait every single day and you’re not in it. Even with all the three hour lectures that would start at 11pm on a school night and including fun things like hair pulling, slapping, hitting, and a belt, I think the family portrait thing might have fucked me up the most.
I’ve been NC for 10 years now. I’m 46. I didn’t know there was a name for what I went through or that a lot of other people had the same situation until I was in my 30’s.
@BramStroker47 Took me a long time to figure all of this out as well. I’m not even sure what fucked me up, because I remember so little. Like, I know I was beat regularly, but I don’t remember a single instance of it.
Breaking off contact certainly helped, but I’d be lying if I didn’t have to deal with the after-effects every day still.
Yeah. It seems like everyday, more and more memories bubble to the surface for me. The anger I feel doesn’t seem to be dissipating and it seems like it gets worse the more years that I’m away from them.