I guess to their wide, innocent eyes it all seemed like normal family life because they had never known any different. In fact, I was the only one who had lived with anyone else, the only one that realized that life didn't have to be this terrifying and this painful all the time

~ Joe Peters

Joe Peters Abused Child Abused Children Children Children Abuse Education Sad Sadness

When you're little you believe whatever your mother tells you, so I assumed it must be true, that I must be inferior to the others in some way.

~ Joe Peters

Joe Peters Abused Child Abused Children Children Fear Sad Sadness Quotes Tears

...repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality. The child trapped in an abusive environment is faced with formidable tasks of adaptation. She must find a way to preserve a sense of trust in people who are untrustworthy, safety in a situation that is unsafe, control in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable, power in a situation of helplessness. Unable to care for or protect herself, she must compensate for the failures of adult care and protection with the only means at her disposal, an immature system of psychological defenses.

~ Judith Lewis Herman

Judith Lewis Herman Abuse Survivors Abused Child Abusive Parents Betrayal Betrayal Trauma Child Abuse Complex Ptsd Coping Defense Mechanism Helpelessness Out Of Control Overwhelmed Overwhelming Parental Abuse Personality Personality Disorders Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Powerlessness Psychological Defence Ptsd Terrifying Trauma Traumatic Experiences Traumatized Trust Unsafe Untrustworthy

Usually we're on the same page. Other times I'm in a whole other book~ Arika Wolly

~ Arika Wolly

Arika Wolly Abused Child Paranormal Psychological Thriller Revenge Serial Killer

The fear of abandonment forced me to comply as a child, but I’m not forced to comply anymore. The key people in my life did reject me for telling the truth about my abuse, but I’m not alone. Even if the consequence for telling the truth is rejection from everyone I know, that’s not the same death threat that it was when I was a child. I’m a self-sufficient adult and abandonment no longer means the end of my life.

~ Christina Enevoldsen

Christina Enevoldsen Abandonment Abandonment Issues Abuse Deniers Abused Child Abusive Family Abusive Parents Accepting The Past Child Abuse Child Abuse Survivor Child Abuse Survivors Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Childhood Abuse Childhood Sexual Abuse Consequences Of Cruelty Controlling Parents Disclosing Abuse Dysfunctional Families Dysfunctional Family Escaping Abuse Family Abuse Fear Of Abandonment Fear Of Death Fear Of Rejection Incest Just Tell Moving On Revealing The Truth Self Sufficiency Survivors Telling Your Story Truth About Abuse

Complexly traumatized children need to be helped to engage their attention in pursuits that do not remind them of trauma-related triggers and that give them a sense of pleasure and mastery. Safety, predictability, and fun are essential for the establishment of the capacity to observe what is going on, put it into a larger context, and initiate physiological and motoric self-regulation.

~ Sarah Benamer

Sarah Benamer Abused Child Abused Children Attachment Theory Attachment Trauma Childhood Trauma Childhood Traumas Complex Ptsd Healing From Abuse Self Regulation Sense Of Safety Trauma Traumatic Stress Traumatization Traumatized