Dear Leah, it is so very important for you to talk with an adult you trust about your situation at home. Is there a teacher or school counselor you could share some of this with? They may be able to help you navigate getting a therapist to talk with regularly. You should not have to feel so alone with this.

Dear Jeffrey, I am so very sorry you are receiving this abuse from your father. It is essential that you talk with a trained therapist about this! I encourage you to contact one of the CEN therapists on my Find a CEN Therapist List. You can find it here: https://drjonicewebb.com/find-a-cen-therapist-list-2025/. Or you can ask your dr. for a referral. It’s important to share burdens like these so you’re not carrying it all by yourself. All my best wishes to you.

Ever since i was a kid, i never had the courage to speak up for myself. I’m not a very shy person irl nor scared of socializing with other people. It’s just that i was raised in a violent way thinking every beating is normal as a sign of love. Everyday, my breakfast would be curses and screaming on every fault i do. THEY NEVER TRIED TO UNDERSTAND ME. I’m so tired on trying to live in a world where society kept on criticizing people for everything they do when they know nothing about the options i have.

My dad fucking hates me. It all started when i was on 5th grade and my DAD beat my ass up for not eating on time. It was like the hands of an iron that slapped me to reality and from that day on, i stopped talking to him. He and my mom never really cared. They despised me for that and every curses feels like an arrow piercing through my heart. I thought they noticed but they never. They never treated my younger brother like that. My brother grew up with constant attention and love i never had. Well i don’t really care because i never pictured myself being in a perfect stable family. I gave all my hopes out years ago and it will never be the same. Everywhere i go, everyone has something to say to me. They see me as a rebellious child who always talks back to her parents. It’s just so sad because home is supposed to be a safe place but as a 16 year old, it feels like a jail where freedom doesn’t exist.

I lived all my life living in solitude and loneliness. at first it felt uncomfortable not having anyone to lean on but as time goes by, i was able to live in it. I always felt like a don’t belong in here and that i was punished on my past life and then was forced to live a life full of burden. I don’t believe when someone says blood is thicker than water because it is not random ppl who will bring you down but your own family.

hi, I’m 12 and am going through a similar idea as you are, although it’s slightly different. my dad is rather rude and mean to me, and blames me for everything, and Im sure he would 100% abandon me if it weren’t for my mom (who is the best). I’m nowhere near old enough or with enough money to leave, and even if I could, my siblings and mom are still there, and I cant abandon them. I’m not even a teenager yet! sorry it’s pretty late (just discovered this) but I believe you can do it! Find people who will believe you. (this logic cant work for me tho, my dad is too nice to other people 🙁 but still be optomistic!) something that really helps me is using my huge collection of homemade stuffed animals to talk to and pretend that they’re therapists. might sound weird, but it helps when I cant talk to anyone else.

You have the right to walk away from all of them, and just have your husband and friends. Never feel guilty if you decide to just enjoy life without them around to ruin everything.

That’s unfortunate about having a sibling like middle sister, who’s been a lifelong rival and enemy. She shouldn’t be in your life at all. You may want to consider just cutting her out of your life permanently. How is she able to call your friends on the phone?? They need to block her ,in all ways like emails and calls. You both will be better off if you end all contact with her.

Hello, Amanda. I’ve been reading about the ” black sheep” situation because I’ve been one since birth, literally. I wanted to suggest that for your physical and mental health,that you limit your time with them all to low or even no contact. You aren’t crazy,they are – and cruel as well! They throw their ” togetherness” in your face every time they get. I see this often in r/ raised by narcissists,where the relatives will mob the black sheep/ scapegoat,to force you to accept things as they are because it’s the family system. It’s toxic and dysfunctional but they’re happy with it. If you have good friends you can trust, they are your family, basically. This is SO common. I haven’t talked to any relative in almost 27 years, and I have zero regrets. Should have done it at 18. I was 40 when I cut the off for good. You may want to write a long letter outlining your points,as they don’t listen in person. I did that, and it helped to drain off the built up pressure from decades of abuse. So that may be one idea. Sometimes families will get therapy, many don’t. You do have options,so there’s hope. The sister who sent the abusive text is the clue that you have been the family scapegoat, and it’s not your fault. Parents usually assign that role.