View Single Post
Old 03-10-2010, 09:51 AM
  # 2 (permalink)  
cobra8
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 12
I feel the same way about my parents. The worst is being confused, wondering if I am just imagining it all and they really were great parents. My father especially swears he never did anything wrong, and he's so adament, he believes it so much himself that it makes me wonder, makes me think maybe I'm the one with the problem. Then I remind myself of his many marriages and divorces, his alcoholism, his brushes with the law, his history of drug use, his various diagnosed mental illnesses, etc and that makes me feel better. Not because I'm glad he has so many issues, but because I'm reminded that my anger is legitimate, it's normal, its natural, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm not the one with the problem.

The worst thing about growing up in a crappy, alcohol or drug damaged, or abusive home is that the parents will rarely ever be honest about things, even years later. That can be even more infuriating than the actual memories you have to deal with. Other people are also unlikely to understand unless they had a similar experience in childhood, especially other family members who are liable to think you should just "get over it" for the good of the family or who may be more concerned about your parents than they are about you.
cobra8 is offline