Category: Child Abuse

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

March 9, 2023

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)

How Keeping a Journal Helps Your Mental Health & Emotional Healing

November 19, 2018

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

May 12, 2018

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

Emotionally Neglected Children May Feel Like They Are Ghosts

September 30, 2016

“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

What Finn From ‘The Force Awakens’ and Adult Survivors of Emotional Child Abuse Have in Common

August 3, 2016

Editor’s Note: Upon reading this post, some readers may say, “Oh, it’s just a movie!” Indeed, but stories, whether in books or movies or television programs, teach us about ourselves, about what we value, about what we love, about what we hate. Recently, I rewatched the latest Star Wars film, “The Force Awakens,” and noticed … More What Finn From ‘The Force Awakens’ and Adult Survivors of Emotional Child Abuse Have in Common

Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers [Book Review]

March 21, 2016

Some daughters grow up with a nagging sense of something not quite right in their relationship with their mothers, though the daughters can’t place their finger on what’s off exactly. It’s a vague, pervasive feeling of being unloved and ignored. They feel like somehow, in some way, the loving relationship that other people seem to … More Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers [Book Review]

Even When Abusive Parents Apologize, They Don’t

February 25, 2016

Every adult survivor of emotional child abuse would love to hear the following apology in some version or other: “Child, I’m so deeply sorry for all the pain and suffering and neglect that you endured through my actions or inactions. If I could go back in time, I’d right those wrongs, treat you with the … More Even When Abusive Parents Apologize, They Don’t

Party of One: How to Stand Strong in the Truth When No One Believes You

September 15, 2015

After you’ve awakened to the truth that you were emotionally abused as a child (and perhaps continue to be as an adult child), you will definitely encounter some hard-core resistance from some disbelieving people. These people either have known you as a child and believe the image of a happy family that your parents propagated; … More Party of One: How to Stand Strong in the Truth When No One Believes You

Fear and Guilt Will Keep You in an Abusive Relationship If You Let Them

August 10, 2015

You’ve long suspected something is not quite normal about your relationship with your parents. Perhaps you even sought answers and read about the signs of emotional child abuse. Now, you have come to the hard, cold realization that you’ve been emotionally abused as a child—and that the abuse has extended into your adulthood. So, what … More Fear and Guilt Will Keep You in an Abusive Relationship If You Let Them

Bunny-Boiling Parents Will Destroy What You Love [Types of Emotional Child Abuse, Part 3]

July 13, 2015

When you look up the definition of emotional child abuse, it includes different kinds of emotional child abuse. In our Types of Emotional Child Abuse series, the first post discussed the silent treatment, and the second, gaslighting. In our third part, we will explore “bunny boiling.” In a healthy parent-child relationship, a parent supports the … More Bunny-Boiling Parents Will Destroy What You Love [Types of Emotional Child Abuse, Part 3]