by Elisabeth | Jul 22, 2020 | Defenders, Dissociation, Relationships
When we are born into an abusive family, we are born into a war we didn’t know we were fighting. We also don’t know how to fight it. We were never given the weapons to fight this war. But the attacks on us start the minute we are born. I am not suggesting we are...
by Elisabeth | Jul 8, 2020 | Defenders, Freedom Fighters, Recovery, Relationships
I’ve always had this wish to have that circle of friends. You know that amazing group of friends we see in all the movies and commercials where they eat together, vacation together and are unconditionally supportive of each other even when they make mistakes. I’ll...
by Elisabeth | Jun 17, 2020 | Dissociation, Recovery, Relationships
I decided to go no-contact with my family many years ago. It wasn’t a flippant decision. It wasn’t to punish my parents. It wasn’t any of those stereotypes about no-contact decisions. Those come from people who are either jealous of our freedom or have done the...
by Elisabeth | Jun 10, 2020 | Recovery, Relationships, Trauma In Society
There is a story in my family that my grandfather was a member of the KKK. This story is told differently from what you might be thinking. There is an eye roll and a condescending tone when it is told. It is told as if he was a silly little man making silly little...
by Elisabeth | May 6, 2020 | Parenting, Recovery, Relationships
Dear Mother, Another American Mother’s Day is approaching and I am still unraveling the web of contracts you spent my entire life trying to weave. I can’t even imagine how much energy and time you spent attempting to limit my life. Seriously, people have used that...
by Elisabeth | Apr 29, 2020 | Defenders, Inner Children, Parenting, Recovery, Relationships
As you already know, this is a weird time. In some ways, this pandemic has paralyzed me. It has been difficult to get my normal tasks done. And it has been borderline impossible to get new things done. Unfortunately, it has coincided with the need to get some new...
