Child Abuse Is

TRIGGER WARNING: This entry briefly mentions drugs, alcohol, and broken homes.

   Child abuse is far more complex than such and such happened to me. Child abuse destroys families. Secrets get kept, lies get told, and children suffer. 

   Child abuse can happen in happy homes. But it often happens in broken homes. Mom’s in prison, dad’s a deadbeat, and drug and alcohol abuse are normalized. Grandma and Grandpa sit back, doing nothing to help. Little girls stop trusting. 

   Walking away means losing it all. Mother’s Day is morbid. Father’s Day is pointless. Your siblings have vanished. You are utterly alone. You feel defective, worthless, and unlovable. You have no one to cry to or save you from self-destruction. 

   You can repair yourself, but you can’t repair your family. No amount of therapy in the world will fix a broken home. You try to forget. You try to feel joy as well as you can. That’s all you can do. You hope things will change, but you know they won’t. 

   Child abuse is not simply “I was hurt.” Child abuse is an array of pains, problems, and losses. Some qualify as abuse, while others simply as dysfunction. A broken home can feel like God Himself has betrayed you. 

   I hope each and every one of us finds a way to survive with these pains.

-Anemone