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Old 12-21-2008, 08:10 AM
  # 8 (permalink)  
GingerM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Under the Rainbow
Posts: 1,086
The difference, as I see it, between your "pet peeve" example and my situation
Mike did a better job explaining what I was trying to say than I did - as Mike said, it's the "blame the victim" mentality that is my pet peeve. The specifics of the situation really don't matter, what matters is that the therapist was trying to make you - the victim - be somehow responsible for your Uncle's behavior, and that then is being carried forward with you in the form of guilt.

I do hope you can reframe this in a manner which allows you to let go of that guilt - it is not yours to carry. It belongs to someone else - to your Uncle, to the people who didn't listen, to the people who listened and did nothing when you couldn't do anything, to the adults who were supposed to protect and nurture you. I think you should box it all up, mail it back to them, and tell them "you left something with me that isn't mine" (metaphorically speaking of course).

I envision myself doing just that when I realize I'm carrying something that isn't mine. Or I envision myself handing it back to the person the next time I see them, if I'm still in contact with them. I always feel such a sense of relief, as though I'm getting rid of a bad house guest.
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