family

Family can be our support system. Or they can be part of the problem. All about the complicated, loving, and difficult relationship with us and the ones who love us.

The men my father set me up for.
There is something very important about being able to use real photos and talk about what really happened to you. As a survivor of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment, I now write about mental health and trauma to provide validation to those who have been through the same.
By Jaded Savior Blog4 years ago in Psyche
One Last Chance
My father called me a “foreigner” for being my brother’s friend. That made me unwelcome in my father’s eyes because my brother was gay. Dad kicked Andy out of the house in 1968 when he was 18. He went to live with another family, finished high school and, while trying to please his parents, he married and had two children.
By John Korkie4 years ago in Psyche
Taking the High Road
"Two road diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveller..." I led a double life...one most people either didn't realize or never really acknowledged. By day, I was a successful and happy computer professional and super parent. By night, and behind closed doors, I was a human shield to my littles and someone who was constantly depressed and miserable. I lived most of my adult life in active domestic abuse, though
By Laura Moseley4 years ago in Psyche
I Thought I Was Over My Mother's Murder
Hello, readers, assuming there are any readers actually out there. I started writing about my life – anonymously – a few months ago. I did it partly on the suggestion of my shrink, who knows I enjoy writing fiction (in fact I have an account on here that is not anonymous, in which I write short stories.) I've found it incredibly cathartic and in fact was even thinking “hey, I'm not even sure if I need to go back to him anymore. That's how good I feel!”
By Mytoxic Family4 years ago in Psyche
Chinese Jump Rope
When I was little my mother took me to the Pacific Ocean. She took me a week after birth. That is what my father told me. He said she sang to me about the waves. My first memory of us in the ocean is when I am around four or five. She is holding my hand and we are walking right into a wave. We go under and she’s smiling as bubbles go up. We come up for air and she carries me inside this cave where all these glowing things are under the water. She tells me they are lanterns for the mermaids and mermen. That we came from the ocean and if I look closely, I will see a mermaid.
By Haven 4 years ago in Psyche
Life Is Beautiful
I hear she unlocks the front door. When she comes in and sees me, she asks: - Why did you not do it? - I'm on, I answer. - I will do it …
By Albert Sundve4 years ago in Psyche
Steaming Mirrors
When I was eleven years old my aunt took custody of me, and my older sister. At the time my sister, Maribelle, was thirteen. After a huge blowout argument between another aunt, and her husband my mother decided that it was best if she split up her four children, and it was my Aunt Danah who stepped in to save the day. Aunt Danah lived out in the country, and I remember when we first went to see her asking if all the roads in Tennessee were bright red like the one my Aunt lived on.
By Sai Marie Johnson4 years ago in Psyche
Trust Your Kids
They say that trust is a fundamental element of all relationships; that it is the foundation of all healthy relationships. This is not true. Trust can be replaced by acceptance that people could betray you and that there will be consequences because of it. This acceptance sits in the heart of those that cannot trust or struggle to, allowing them to still form relationships without that trust. I struggle to trust. I struggle to trust because sometimes there are betrayals that are too deep to fully forgive.
By Sasha Nichols4 years ago in Psyche
How Toxic Parents Are Harmful For Mental Health
Children are often told by their parents to follow in their footsteps. But what happens when the footsteps they’re following are leading them down a destructive path?
By Fahim Chughtai4 years ago in Psyche
My Brother's Keeper
I was 5 years old the summer he was born. My father joked about how he must have been the mailman's, he certainly hadn't been planned. We were the youngest of eight.
By Analise Dionn4 years ago in Psyche
Where Do I Put My Rage?
How do I put into words the feeling that comes with realizing I've been mistreated and abused my whole life, but I mistook it for affection? How do I explain the confusion that can get so heavy it is physically paralyzing; the confusion caused by thinking I was a bad person my whole life even though I never broke a rule. How do I wrap my own mind around the fact that I've never had a personality or identity of my own, one that was not disgustingly enmeshed with the identity of being my mother's loser daughter, even though I was good at literally everything I tried?
By Marina4 years ago in Psyche
Handling Dysfunctional Family Members During the Holidays Without Losing Your Shit
Well, the holidays are here. Time to decorate, eat, drink and be merry. Unless you're living in a toxic soup of a family. Then the holidays can be not so merry. Even if they're not being malicious, it's still hard to hear people spout negative comments, ask inappropriate things, and behave badly in general.
By Kim Byrne4 years ago in Psyche