thats awful...i'm sure that your parents treatment of you had a long lasting effect. our families are all we know of "normalcy" as we grow up, no matter how "normal" or dysfunctional they actually are. it's as we grow and start figuring out the world for ourselves and making our own decisions and finding meaning that we see how that affected us and have to make changes or stay the same in how we look at our parents and ourselves.

i know that the older i get, the more objectively i can see my parents' behavior toward me. i mean looking at it in a new, hopefully healthier light. therapy has helped though sometimes i wonder if its just focusing too much on the past? i for sure have issues with the way i was treated by my father that have just become clear to me recently, my mother was better to me all around. she tried and only had my best interests in mind. i dont hate my dad for what he did...i hate what he did, and i no longer choose to have contact with him.