Lisa writes: “I’m 17. All my family does is fight. My family downgrades me every chance they get. They sometimes hit me and always cuss and yell at me. I feel like I have so many secrets and no one to talk to…I know my family wouldn’t believe me. I don’t know what to do or how to make things right. I want my family to love me and I wanna be happy…I am happy until my dad is around. Then it’s just yelling and threatening and sometimes hitting. Please reply and please help me.”
I wish I could make it all better, Lisa, but some families are unhappy and abusive. It’s just the way it is and this sucks. You don’t deserve this, no matter what you’ve done.
You’ve asked for my help….the one big piece of advice I have is to get an education. Stay in school. Complete your assignments. Ask your teachers for help. (Yes, they really do want to help.) And then when you’ve graduated, get out. Out of your biological family.
It sounds toxic.
You can’t make your family stop yelling and arguing, but you can make a different life for yourself. It’s hard when you want the people who raised you to be different and to love you. Sometimes, they just don’t.