your round cheeks, a smile all baby teeth before you wore glasses, you looked just like me you spoke in little whispers, so gentle and sweet i taught you letters, excited for you to read
i cannot forget how little you were, so small but you grew so fast and you got tall enough for rollercoasters and water slides old enough for movies and motorcycle rides
old enough to be beat till you sobbed for mercy older and wronged, shivering in fury older still and afraid, running faster than tears this is how i began to fear it still haunts me after all these years
so i shush you when you cry so i threaten when you fight so i stayed awake at night so i learned how we survive
hush little baby, don’t say a word mama might come, but i got here first i know you’re scared, i know it hurts but if she comes, it will hurt worse
i age too fast, but still too slow to keep you safe from every blow i failed so i pray you hold your own
but when i beg forgiveness, you say what for you only know peacetime, never war i think i’m glad you don’t remember all
the bloodshed and the slaughter let it die with the eldest daughter
Is there a name for being that person who is always reprimanded for "wasting potential" or "not applying yourself" constantly, until one day, you magically outperform your usual self. But it never lasts. It lasts a day, at worst and maybe a few months, at best. But everyone is finally proud of you and they come to expect it from you and you're just thinking "No...please. I can't do this with consistency... This was just a fluke." And then once you're back to normal production (maybe worse if you tried to keep overachieving), they're back to "You're not trying hard enough."
Is there a name for it? Am I the only one?
skipping the first part because parent
Desensitizing and normalizing abuse
This person has me seeing a lot of media with abuse in it, and compares it to their behaviour.
This person talks about abuse that is worse than what they're doing, to remind me how good they are in comparison.
I feel like I need to accept their views and be understanding to them or else I am a bad person
I've seen this person act awfully towards other people and I got used to the idea that it's normal and it might be me one day
I know this person thinks horrible things about other people, and I'm scared they'll think the same about me
This person thinks that not being tough and enduring abuse would make me a weakling
This person shows me that being a little rough and violent is just a joke and not a big deal
This person likes telling jokes in which they make fun of someone by humiliating or insulting them, and is convinces me it's just good fun
This person doesn't think their actions would affect someone strongly
This person doesn't seem to feel much guilt when they hurt me, even when I would be horrified to hurt someone else this bad
if someone complains about their behaviour, then that person is called oversensitive, or a killjoy
This person talks about horrible things they've been thru, even when i'm too young to perceive or understand it
This person thinks people who complain about abuse and violence are bad and weak, and just need to endure it and get over it already
This person thinks abuse victims are themselves to blame for participating
This person thinks victims of abuse secretly want it
Guilt-tripping and punishing
I feel like a bad and selfish person if I say no to them
This person explained to me that everyone else does this kind of thing too, and I am stupid if I refuse to do it
This person convinced me if I didn't accept what they do to me I would become spoiled, selfish and rotten, useless person and a burden
This person says what they do is "tough love" and it's for my own good
I feel like I'm hurting this person if I don't give them what they need (want)
I owe obedience to this person, I am afraid to fail them
I feel if I don't do or think as this person says, I immediately lose all value in their eyes
If I try to resist this person, they compare me to everyone else who hurt them and make me feel horrible about myself
If I say no to this person, I will become useless in their eyes
If I try to resist this person, they will punish me, and start to resent me
No matter how much I resist this person, it makes things worse for me
No matter how much I resist this person, they wear me down and exhaust me until I can't fight them anymore
If I say no to this person, they ask again and again until I say yes, or make me do it by force
I feel too weak to resist them and I think it's my fault
I know I should resist this person, but I feel like they're only one who love me and I can't bear to lose them
I invested so much time and love in this person, I can't bear risking them leave me if I keep resisting them now
If I resist or confront this person, they ignore me for days/weeks and I feel they hate me
I don't feel like I have a choice but to keep doing what I'm told by this person
If I don't do what I'm told, things might escalate into violence and I am too scared to risk it
I'm scared of what they'll do to me, or themselves if I resist
this person explained to me that I'm silly for trying to resist them and what they want me to do is the right thing and I should do it, even if I feel unwilling
this person insists it's not a big deal what they're doing to me and that I shouldn't overreact to it
Isolation and secrecy
I feel uncomfortable telling anyone about what's happening between me and this person in private
I'm scared if I tell anyone, they wouldn't understand, or they would get angry at me for allowing for it to happen
I feel if I told someone, I would be blamed for everything that happened
I don't have many friends or people who would care about me
I'm scared if I told someone, the person doing this to me would make sure I was blamed
I don't want to be disloyal to this person, I know telling someone would make them look bad
I feel like I must keep everything a secret
this person told me not to tell anyone
this person made threats to me if I told someone
I'm scared of what this person might do to me, or themselves, if I told someone
This person convinced me to get distance from my friends and family, and to not trust other people with anything that happens between us
Rules and terrorizing
I am not allowed to challenge this person, or doubt anything they say. Whatever they say is the truth must be accepted as such, even if I secretly think they might be wrong
I'm not allowed to make this person angry, or I might end up in more pain than I can handle
I'm not allowed to leave or abandon this person, it would make me feel so guilty it would be unbearable
I was allowed to defend myself from this person at the start but I'm forced to give in eventually
I've known this person to do awful things and they might do it to me
I'm aware of how much worse this person could do to me, they keep reminding me to be grateful their behaviour didn't escalate further and how it could
Arguing with this person escalates into insults, humiliation, threats and blackmailing
I'm scared of what this person might reveal to others about me
this person threatened to commit suicide or hurt/murder me if resist
I feel cornered and obliged to go along with this person's demands, to consider otherwise fills me with terror and guilt
I'm terrified of being abandoned by this person, even though being with them is very painful as well
I feel guilty about the things I've allowed this person to do to me, but I don't feel able stopping them from doing more in the future
33...its too much
Am I being groomed to accept abuse? Checklist
This is the checklist for recognizing if you’re groomed into accepting abuse, this checklist doesn’t cover sexual grooming, and for sexual grooming click here. Bold the points that are true for you, italicize if you’re unsure. Even if sexual grooming isn’t covered here, the same methods are used in sexual grooming as well.
Creating an illusion of bond (this step can be skipped if they’re already a part of family and expect trust by default)
This person makes me feel important and special
This person claims they feel admiration and affection for me because of my maturity and intelligence, and that’s why they’re drawn to me even though it might look inappropriate
I am surprised this person would feel anything for me (because of age-difference, they’re a teacher/adult or otherwise authority figure, or because nobody else in my life thinks I’m worthy being cared for)
This person gives me special privileges
This person tells me personal secrets, and I am surprised they trust me with them
This person acts like they already knew me when they just met me, and acts like we’re very close already, even when there wasn’t much time spent together
This person considers me a part of their life very fast and I am flattered by it
This person was very quick to declare affection and love for me
This person shares intimate details of their life with me and I feel special for it
This person makes me feel like they’re the only one who really loves me
This person said they were the only one who really loves me
This person knows things about me nobody else knows
This person makes me feel at ease to talk about my trauma, even when I don’t feel like I could tell anyone else, they don’t judge me
This person seems to think the world of me right away
This person calls me affectionate nicknames that don’t match the length or type of our relationship
This person gives me presents and gifts out of nowhere and I feel indebted and grateful
I feel indebted to this person, even if I didn’t want the gifts they gave me
This person was there for me when no-one else was and I wont abandon them no matter what
This person praises and compliments me for everything I do they want of me, but their praise stops whenever I want to go against their word
Desensitizing and normalizing abuse
This person has me seeing a lot of media with abuse in it, and compares it to their behaviour.
This person talks about abuse that is worse than what they’re doing, to remind me how good they are in comparison.
I feel like I need to accept their views and be understanding to them or else I am a bad person
I’ve seen this person act awfully towards other people and I got used to the idea that it’s normal and it might be me one day
I know this person thinks horrible things about other people, and I’m scared they’ll think the same about me
This person thinks that not being tough and enduring abuse would make me a weakling
This person shows me that being a little rough and violent is just a joke and not a big deal
This person likes telling jokes in which they make fun of someone by humiliating or insulting them, and is convinces me it’s just good fun
This person doesn’t think their actions would affect someone strongly
This person doesn’t seem to feel much guilt when they hurt me, even when I would be horrified to hurt someone else this bad
if someone complains about their behaviour, then that person is called oversensitive, or a killjoy
This person talks about horrible things they’ve been thru, even when i’m too young to perceive or understand it
This person thinks people who complain about abuse and violence are bad and weak, and just need to endure it and get over it already
This person thinks abuse victims are themselves to blame for participating
This person thinks victims of abuse secretly want it
Guilt-tripping and punishing
I feel like a bad and selfish person if I say no to them
This person explained to me that everyone else does this kind of thing too, and I am stupid if I refuse to do it
This person convinced me if I didn’t accept what they do to me I would become spoiled, selfish and rotten, useless person and a burden
This person says what they do is “tough love” and it’s for my own good
I feel like I’m hurting this person if I don’t give them what they need (want)
I owe obedience to this person, I am afraid to fail them
I feel if I don’t do or think as this person says, I immediately lose all value in their eyes
If I try to resist this person, they compare me to everyone else who hurt them and make me feel horrible about myself
If I say no to this person, I will become useless in their eyes
If I try to resist this person, they will punish me, and start to resent me
No matter how much I resist this person, it makes things worse for me
No matter how much I resist this person, they wear me down and exhaust me until I can’t fight them anymore
If I say no to this person, they ask again and again until I say yes, or make me do it by force
I feel too weak to resist them and I think it’s my fault
I know I should resist this person, but I feel like they’re only one who love me and I can’t bear to lose them
I invested so much time and love in this person, I can’t bear risking them leave me if I keep resisting them now
If I resist or confront this person, they ignore me for days/weeks and I feel they hate me
I don’t feel like I have a choice but to keep doing what I’m told by this person
If I don’t do what I’m told, things might escalate into violence and I am too scared to risk it
I’m scared of what they’ll do to me, or themselves if I resist
this person explained to me that I’m silly for trying to resist them and what they want me to do is the right thing and I should do it, even if I feel unwilling
this person insists it’s not a big deal what they’re doing to me and that I shouldn’t overreact to it
Isolation and secrecy
I feel uncomfortable telling anyone about what’s happening between me and this person in private
I’m scared if I tell anyone, they wouldn’t understand, or they would get angry at me for allowing for it to happen
I feel if I told someone, I would be blamed for everything that happened
I don’t have many friends or people who would care about me
I’m scared if I told someone, the person doing this to me would make sure I was blamed
I don’t want to be disloyal to this person, I know telling someone would make them look bad
I feel like I must keep everything a secret
this person told me not to tell anyone
this person made threats to me if I told someone
I’m scared of what this person might do to me, or themselves, if I told someone
This person convinced me to get distance from my friends and family, and to not trust other people with anything that happens between us
Rules and terrorizing
I am not allowed to challenge this person, or doubt anything they say. Whatever they say is the truth must be accepted as such, even if I secretly think they might be wrong
I’m not allowed to make this person angry, or I might end up in more pain than I can handle
I’m not allowed to leave or abandon this person, it would make me feel so guilty it would be unbearable
I was allowed to defend myself from this person at the start but I’m forced to give in eventually
I’ve known this person to do awful things and they might do it to me
I’m aware of how much worse this person could do to me, they keep reminding me to be grateful their behaviour didn’t escalate further and how it could
Arguing with this person escalates into insults, humiliation, threats and blackmailing
I’m scared of what this person might reveal to others about me
this person threatened to commit suicide or hurt/murder me if resist
I feel cornered and obliged to go along with this person’s demands, to consider otherwise fills me with terror and guilt
I’m terrified of being abandoned by this person, even though being with them is very painful as well
I feel guilty about the things I’ve allowed this person to do to me, but I don’t feel able stopping them from doing more in the future
If you bolded and italicized 4 or more of the points of any but the first category, you have underwent some form of grooming. If you bolded and italicized more than 25 of the points, you have been thru extensive and extremely malicious grooming. Anyone put thru this would find themselves helpless and cornered, it is not your fault if you’ve been subjected to this, and you did not attract it into your life.
If you bolded a lot of things in the first category, but not the others, and this relationship is still new, be careful because they might start doing the second phase of grooming at one point. (If the relationship between you and this person already lasted for years and never escalated into any abusive or coercive behaviour, you can ignore that advice).
Hello, can you please reblog or publish a post for my campaign? Due to the weakness of donations, they pass slowly as ice. I hope you can help me. A small amount like $10 will be more than useful to help me and my family. Thank you for everything💔🙏
Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundrais‼️💔🍉🍉🍉
Farah is #310 on the Vetted Fundraisers List‼️
Right now, donated money is being used to help us survive this war. Food is very expensive and my family has to pay rent for the land that our tent is on. However, I want to save up enough money to evacuate my family to a safer place where we can rebuild our lives. I dream of returning to university to finish my computer science degree. I want to provide a better life for my family than is possible in Gaza. My family and I have many dreams we would like to fulfill after this war. We are grateful to everyone who donated and helps us during this time of suffering. Thank you for reading
https://gofund.me/73d4b003
Guys please help them if you can. I currently have no money, but I'm spreading this. If you also have no money, you can help by spreading awareness
I re-blogged this (the first time) in 2014. Today, I tried half a dozen times to re-blog it, and it wouldn’t work. So, I saved the images and re-posted it. I hope it helps make life a little easier. :-) The original post is by iraffiruse.
i made tumblr pride flags! feel free to ask or more edits
"You'll grow out of being sensitive."
"You need to grow up and stop crying all the time."
"You can't let everything hurt you like this."
Will I really grow out of this though? It doesn't make sense. My mouth starts moving before i think, and someone says that they weren't talking to me, that I should be quiet...
And suddenly I'm six years old again, being yelled at constantly and occasionally beaten for talking too much or talking out of turn.
Why does it hurt so much? It shouldn't hurt. We're all adults and they even said it somewhat gently... So why do the tears roll?
for this disability pride month, i want to highlight a couple of things with autism and ahdhd, particularly in girls.
if your teen girl is staying up every single night until 3 am doing homework, and she's been at it since 230 pm when she got home from school... that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. thats not normal, even the insane amounts of schoolwork that a white rich school would require for students in those college level courses wouldnt require almost 12 hours of studying a night. especially if her grades don't reflect that level of attention.
if your teen girl forgets things constantly, if she makes mistakes in sending the right documents or doesnt buy what you tell her to at the store, she is not lazy, stupid or malicious. these are symptoms that need to be acknowledged and addressed, this is not normal brain behavior. there is something going on cognitively.
if your teen girl is amazing and lovely until she's explosively angry, she's not an evil person hellbent on ruining the family. this is emotional disregulation, she needs help. these are symptons that need to be acknowledged and addressed.
if your teen girl is talkative and likes being around you until she doesnt, and if she goes silent until she's allowed to go to her room and sleep off the grumpiness, she's not being hateful towards you. she is likely burnt-out socializing and needs to gain her energy back, let her be. this is a symptom that needs to be addressed and acknowledged.
if your daughter constantly needs to chew on gum, even after you berate and shame her for doing so, to the point where her jaw often hurts, this is not her being defiant. this is a symptom and needs to be addressed and acknowledged.
if your daughter walks funny, laughs funny, dances weird, cries too much at commercials that are overly dramatic, and you make her feel bad for displaying any of these traits, you're harming her. let her exist in this world without feeling the need to box in her behavior into "acceptable" mannerisms. unlearn what it means to walk, laugh, dance "funny" and examine why you feel the need to bully people who don't behave in ways you've approved beforehand.
if your daughter has had trouble making friends her entire life and if you often catch her talking to herself in rehearsing full on conversations, she is most likely exhibiting symptoms of autism and these need to be acknowledged and addressed.
if your daughter learned to do things early on and had an extensive vocabulary or skipped the crawling stage and walked immediately, or if your daughter never learned how to "play properly" i.e. she loved having toys but only to organize and line them up and refused to let anyone else touch them, your daughter is exhibiting symptoms of autism that need to be acknowledged and addressed.
if your daughter often refuses to acknowledge her tone or states that "i didnt say it like that" "i didnt say that" or "thats not what i meant" and if she repeatedly tells you "i dont understand what tone you're talking about" she is not gaslighting or manipulating you. she is not being stubborn, she is not lying. she is exhibiting signs of autism that need to be acknowledged and addressed.
if your daughter only likes to eat certain things, to the point that it affects her health, she is not a picky eater. this is a symptom that must be acknowledged and addressed.
if your daughter is black and white in her thinking, to the point where she will argue with you about things that she thinks are objectively unfair or wrong to her, she is not doing it out of spite. she is exhibiting symptoms that must be addressed and acknowledged.
if your daughter loses her shit at not being allowed to sleep in on the weekends, especially if you know she's been pulling 12 hour "study sessions" all week, she is not being spoiled and ungrateful. she is exhibiting signs of autism/adhd burn out and she biologically needs to sleep more than other people to begin with, let alone in the situation that she is currently in.
please stop demonizing the behavior of your teenage daughters and start looking at each individual situation as pieces to a larger puzzle. if your daughter shows a majority of these signs, please start looking at these behaviors as manifestions of the symptoms that are distressing your child in that moment.
autism in girls is often treated as "bad behavior" that parents often try to "discipline" out instead of symptomatic behavior of a disorder that has gone unmanaged and unaccomodated for probably over a decade and half at that point. please treat your daughters with respect, love and dignity even in their worst times because that is when they need the most.
it doesn't help when you demonize your child as being purposely spiteful and hateful towards you, especially if you feel like you've communicated with them sufficiently and they aren't listening or compromising with you at the very least, because your children *do not* want to hurt you. your children are begging to be heard and you refuse to help them.
please research autism and adhd, especially how it can differ in girls versus boys, and please start treating your teenage girls with more love, kindness, and empathy.
Happy aniversary you dumb fucks @staff