Don’t Give Up

I’m currently in grad school for human services and had to choose a topic of a social problem – I chose child abuse and actually came across this website from doing research. I wanted to share my story, but it might be too long to write. Long story short, I was abused at a young age by my father, emotionally and physically, along with my two siblings and my mother. I was sexually assaulted by my own cousin as well as my dad’s best friend’s son. When I told my dad, I got in trouble. I became suicidal, started cutting myself and slowly developed depression and anxiety. The abuse stopped when I was almost done with middle school. He removed himself from the family and left my mother and my siblings. They divorced, we all moved, and in college, I somehow didn’t realize my best friend would later turn into my stalker. I was then diagnosed with PTSD and spiraled. After a couple of months of making bad decisions, I turned my life around and picked myself back up. There’s a lot more to my story. My best friend was murdered, I had an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend, I haven’t seen my dad in 10 years and somehow I ended up on top. 

What advice would you offer to encourage others? 

Don’t give up. Everything you’re feeling is temporary. Life is what you make it and although it may throw you curveballs, it all depends on how you react to those curveballs. Laugh and keep going. 

• Anonymous Child Abuse Survivor