Most of us left and returned to our abuser several times. When I left, my friends and family gathered in support, but when I returned to the abuser, their support sometimes turned to anger. I would wonder about their strong reaction to my perceived act of love. I was going to work extra hard to … Continue reading Anger
Category: abuse
The Baby and the Sword
Have you ever felt maternal toward your abuser? Have you ever felt the need to save your abuser? I’ll plead guilty to both. To successfully leave the abuser, I had to lay down the baby and the sword. During one of my attempts to escape from abuse, I consulted a counselor who compared an abuser … Continue reading The Baby and the Sword
Captivity
Within the last ten years, the news covered several stories about young girls kidnapped and held in horrific physical captivity who eventually escaped. We heard about Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus and their kidnappings and the ensuing ordeals of being imprisoned, chained, starved, raped, beaten, and isolated from the … Continue reading Captivity
Mind Control
Some of us remember watching in disbelief when the young kidnapped heiress, Patty Hearst, later joined her kidnappers in threatening hostages during a bank robbery. A bank robbery in Switzerland introduced Stockholm’s Syndrome into everyday conversation. We named it mind control or brain washing and assumed we’re immune because we are opinionated. But, that’s not … Continue reading Mind Control
The Fight for Happiness
When we’re trapped in an abusive relationship, none of our choices seem to lead to happiness. If we dare to escape from the abuser, life feels foreign and not at all happy like we’d hoped. We decide that the devil we knew was not as bad as this new-found hell, so we return to the … Continue reading The Fight for Happiness
