17 Excuses People Give to Avoid Going to Talk Therapy (and Why They Should Really Rethink Them)

If you’ve been reading the Invisible Scar articles for some time, you know that we are proponents of therapy. We don’t espouse a specific psychological approach nor do we care whether you choose a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, or counselor. We do care about Invisible Scar readers, though, and so we repeat (often) the phrase please … More 17 Excuses People Give to Avoid Going to Talk Therapy (and Why They Should Really Rethink Them)

Surviving Emotional Child Abuse: You Are So Much Stronger Than You Think You Are

You have made your way to this website about emotional child abuse. Despite all the naysayers and flying monkeys wanting you to remain in the same swampland you’ve lived by forever, you’re here. You’ve chopped through the choking entanglements around you. You’ve navigated through the dense darkness of denial. And now, taking a breath in … More Surviving Emotional Child Abuse: You Are So Much Stronger Than You Think You Are

How Keeping a Journal Helps Your Mental Health & Emotional Healing

Your mind is full of thoughts, ideas, and memories that long to be shared. But you’re not sure just how much to share with your friends, how fleeting those thoughts are, whether you feel comfortable enough putting them in the mind of someone else. Consider regularly keeping a journal. “In particular, journaling can be especially … More How Keeping a Journal Helps Your Mental Health & Emotional Healing

Three Must-Read Posts for Mother’s Day If You’re an Adult Survivor of Emotional Child Abuse

Advertisements on TV and the radio go over the top in portraying all mothers as idealized heroic women who did absolutely every single thing right. Motherhood, however, is far more complex and grittier than those bleached versions of it. It’s a vocation that, when approached right, requires maternal sacrifice, encourages a selfless love from the … More Three Must-Read Posts for Mother’s Day If You’re an Adult Survivor of Emotional Child Abuse

Questions From the Mailbox: Allegedly Ruining Your Future, Deciding to Blog, and Wondering Whether to Tell Your Abusive Parents How You Feel

Editor’s Note: The Invisible Scar does not offer professional advice, only opinion. The Invisible Scar receives many emails every month. Some have questions or comments best shared with our readers in this “From the Editor’s Mailbox” column. Though our main advice is for the reader to seek therapy from a professional, we also invite helpful … More Questions From the Mailbox: Allegedly Ruining Your Future, Deciding to Blog, and Wondering Whether to Tell Your Abusive Parents How You Feel

You Don’t Owe Your Toxic Mother a Card, Candy, or Quality Time on Mother’s Day

Whenever you see your mother, she belittles you, emotionally abuses you, treats you like a peasant, and demands to be fawned over like a queen. After you spend time with her, whether in person or on the phone or even reading an email from her, you feel very, very tiny and insignificant. You hurt inside, … More You Don’t Owe Your Toxic Mother a Card, Candy, or Quality Time on Mother’s Day

Soldiering On

I must’ve argued with myself a dozen or so times about whether I should write this post. I loathe writing about myself. But this post is really for you. See, I understand what a blog reader feels when he or she hasn’t seen a new post at a favorite blog for a long time. You … More Soldiering On

Emotionally Neglected Children May Feel Like They Are Ghosts

“Emotional Neglect is the white space in the family picture; the background rather than the foreground. It is insidious and overlooked while it does its silent damage to people’s lives.” (Dr. Jonice Webb) Editor’s note: I use “he” because “he or she” can interrupt the flow of sentences. But abuse can happen to any gender. … More Emotionally Neglected Children May Feel Like They Are Ghosts