Comments on: Verbal Abuse in Childhood Rewires the Developing Brain

By: Nameless

Nameless — Fri, 30 May 2025 06:53:37 +0000

I can relate with most of these. I remember when I left the my paternal house, even when I was far away from everyone I had dark thoughts of dying. I don’t have them now but I still feel like a burden to my partner still. People should see verbal abuse and neglect as a crime, I’ve been sexually abused and ironically it doesn’t impact me like the first two.

I believe people who were verbally abused should talk about it more so others will understand that is serious like sexual assault, we are not being sensitive or seeking attention. It changes you without realizing becoming a different person than if you had with a more loving environment.

By: RJM

RJM — Tue, 27 May 2025 15:29:42 +0000

I found this article to be very naive and oversimplistic. The vague assurance that by verbal abuse it is not “occasionally losing one’temper” leaves no clarity regarding line drawing. I’ve been struggling with a mentally ill child who is now a teenager. It is easy to say “occasionally lose one’s temper” in a context of “average” kids and average parenting, but the frustration levels experienced by every parent of an incipient bipolar child (or diagnosed bipolar child), or the parent of a child with diagnosed ODD (oppositional definance disorder) puts a lie to the implicit message underlying the article: the parent is at fault. The escalation from disagreement to out of control behavior can happen in the wink of an eye, and the superficial admonishment to avoid trying to “control” your [out of control child] is the equivalent of ‘be a better parent’. Teenagers are hard to parent, and a teenager with mental illness, with a contributing organic neurodivergence, is next to impossible.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 16 May 2025 13:03:20 +0000

I want thank all of you who have posted comments. Reading them after reading this article makes me feel a lot less alone. I have never been good at making friends or keeping the ones I made. In fact, the only real friends I have now are my two amazing dogs of which I am extremely grateful for. I am not good at meeting new people and I don’t trust anyone. This is an awful way to live. It’s really sad to watch all these other people that have friends and go out on weekends knowing that you just can’t. I am 52 years old and this has been a life long problem. I just started going to therapy again after many years of avoiding it and thinking I could figure it all out myself, boy was I wrong. I have only been in therapy for a month and I have already learned so much about myself. Every session is painful because talking about all the abuse I have been through is almost like reliving it all over again. That being said, I am starting to understand things better and am feeling a little better. You are all very brave and we will all get through this one day at a time. My heart goes out to all of you. Love to all!

By: Musicachic

Musicachic — Wed, 14 May 2025 22:07:31 +0000

Welp… I guess all of us commenting have some relationship to this unfortunately.

It has indeed negatively shaped me as an adult. As a kid with this situation, you feel trapped because there is no other place to go. You don’t choose your parents and you can’t emancipate yourself as a small child. You want nothing more than to become an adult so you can get away from it. Then when that happens, you proceed to realize, you missed your childhood and will never get it back.

As someone else said, I’m in my 40s, have never married, had kids, let alone ever been in a relationship. I’m the one who became the academic perfectionist, funny friend while internally dealing with my constant internal struggle of negative talk. All we can do is keep searching for our happiness, as long as it takes.

By: Soyala

Soyala — Tue, 13 May 2025 20:46:26 +0000

Many have suffered along side you Patrick, found a group for depression and abuse, you will find people who are like you…who still have beautiful hearts regardless.

The most insightful living people have had traumas….never ever give up, look for us and we can care for each other.

In Japan broken items are mended together with gold and highly revered.

We are like those items, broken but not destroyed, and often with hearts of gold.
We are those items, often with hearts of gold, and worth searching for!💛

We are everywhere….just look for us in the places you haven’t looked.
*Please know if you keep going you can still have a beautiful life, the trick is just find a place with some similar souls to share your experiences.
Try the church, or Buddhist temple, interfaith, mental health groups, art therapy classes, spiritual meditation, volenteering etc.or mental health groups.

Sometimes it helps to get busy and find a hobby, just keep looking until you find a few who are similar….you just need a few good ppl and build from there.Do both find a hobby, go to a spiritual practice and look for a mental health group or centre, the more places you seek, the more likely you will find comfort. You still need to start speaking to yourself in a loving way too, that can strengthen you immensel. You must try to be your own best friend first, it’s a new practice…but you can do this!

We are out there🙏🏻❤️‍🩹💖❤️‍🔥
And life can get better and more fulfilling.

Many Blessings 🙌

By: Bob C

Bob C — Tue, 13 May 2025 20:41:02 +0000

In reply to N Muir. Congratulations on finding a path to healing. May your journey continue to ever-greater success. Namasté.❤️

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:50:27 +0000

In reply to Patrick. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad you stayed another day. There are people in this world who recover from the childhood baggage we carry. The journey is difficult, as you know, but not impossible. Please stay. The world needs you. You can help someone else who is struggling with the same issues.

By: Heather Baumgartner

Heather Baumgartner — Tue, 13 May 2025 01:31:56 +0000

In reply to JJ. Jesus is our hope. He loves us and won't leave. Nor will He abuse you. If you ask Him to come into your heart,receive Him as savior, beleive that He died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the grave, He will come into your heart, save you from sins, give you eternal life in heaven and bring healing to your soul. He never leaves. He brings us into a relationship with our heavenly father. Trust Him.

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 12 May 2025 22:28:38 +0000

In reply to Seeking balance. We must heal ourselves and each other y'all

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 12 May 2025 22:27:10 +0000

In reply to Patrick. Patrick please don't. I'll be your friend. My name is Christina. Where are you from? I'm from Texas

By: Susan Girling

Susan Girling — Mon, 12 May 2025 22:00:16 +0000

As a child that came from a Family where Verbal abuse was the daily norm, there is hope.
The way we are treated can also teach Us, how Not to treat others.
You have a choice, a decision, that you ask yourself, How do I want to be?.
What path shall I choose, and who do I want to become?
I was always looking for the beauty in things, to cover the fear and instability I felt at home.
We would loose ourselves in reading books and music, and being outside was our soul food.
Some inner intuition to run, and play, was our safety net.
The child like sense of wonder and curiosity is still with Me,even tho I still feel that I don’t fit, or am not quite right, it sustains the belief that in some way I am still worthy, that beauty is always there…….you just have to take the time to look, or not loose the child like curiosity to see it.

By: Seeking balance

Seeking balance — Mon, 12 May 2025 19:19:54 +0000

In reply to Cynthia Brandt. I’d like to know the same, what strategies are there to cope and build up confidence and trust as an adult experiencing the consequences of a verbally abusive parent?