Quote:
Originally Posted by critterlady
It's very common for those who have been abused to minimize what they went through. It's a protective mechanism.
The first time my T said the word "abuse," it was a shock. I'd never thought of what happened as abuse. I figured all kids went through what I went through and therefore, it was normal. It can take a long time and a lot of repetition to see it any other way.
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This is how it was with me too. When T said it sounded like my childhood was one of abuse and neglect I immediately denied it and tried to explain to him that I was just a quiet child and I didn't make my needs more clearly known to the adults around me. As I started researching abuse/neglect on the internets it became more clear that T had been right. But it was hard to come to accept that my childhood was not what childhood is meant to be like, and I still struggle with it.