Recovery from Domestic Abuse
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Face Forward Restores Faces Maimed by Domestic Violence
“Face Forward works with community leaders around the nation to identify victims of violence who are legitimately working toward recovery and who carry the physical evidence of past abuse,” namely, the kind of abuse you see in the mirror, every day, that reminds you of your abusive past.
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What Do You Pray For?
Long ago, in the trenches of my abusive marriage, I prayed for strength and courage. God delivered – She gave me experiences that required strength and courage so I could hone those skills! That wasn’t exactly what I meant.
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I Feel Ashamed of My PTSD Diagnosis
A couple of weeks ago, I received a second mental health diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I’ve long wondered if my symptoms added up to PTSD but knowing that a psychiatrist believes I have PTSD affected me. Negatively. Being diagnosed with PTSD affected me negatively. There. I said it. It makes me feel powerless.…
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Inspirational Blogs
We may suffer, we may cry, but we all have the free will to choose how we deal with our pain. Submitting to abuse causes you to deny who you are and trash the unique qualities, abilities and experiences given to you. What a waste of a great human.
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Perfectionism And Abuse – January 2013
Hello! I feel disappointed in myself. I haven’t kept up with this newsletter as I intended. It turned into an automatic mailing of blog updates…how boring! I’m sorry for that, and I intend to do much better. I vow that I will no longer try to create the “perfect” newsletter. I sense that perfection is too…
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Abuse and the Quest for Perfection
“Perfection” bedevils many of us, myself included. Perhaps you suffer from it yourself. I could blame my experience with abuse for it because, as you well know, abusers expect perfection from us victims. Not our idea of perfection, but their idea of the perfect wife, husband, child or friend.
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How Crazymaking and Coercive Control Affect Your Brain and Thinking
Have you ever walked away from an argument with your partner thinking, I know what just happened. So why can’t I explain it anymore? Maybe you started the conversation knowing exactly what you meant. Twenty minutes later, you were defending something you never said, apologizing for something you didn’t do, or wondering whether your memory…
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Life with an Abuser Vs Life with Freedom and Choice
I left my life with an abuser almost three years ago, and the real roller coaster of life revealed itself. On the uphill climbs, I feel simultaneously excited and worried about reaching the top. Sitting on the peak, before the thrilling plummet, I feel on top of my game, as if nothing can break me. The…
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Verbal Abuse Drives Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse is more than sexual and physical violence. It includes mental and emotional abuse, and underneath nearly all of it is verbal abuse. Verbal abuse is more than name calling and more than yelling. It is how control gets built and kept. It is also hard to see from inside, which is what makes…
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My Helpful Friend Is Really A Control Freak!
I have a friend who is as controlling as my ex, but in a different way. She comes to my new place calls my kid’s toys & clothing junk. She makes judgement calls on my other friends insisting that they are holding me back, but she is the one who won’t let me move forward! I feel…