Were you emotionaly abused as a kid/teen?

I was...and i think that's the main reason for my anxiety. I don't think the emotional abuse stopped until I was 24. I had stopped talking to my abusive parent when i was 18. I still remember the shouting, day and night, and how bad it used to make me feel. It made me feel worthless, have low self-esteem and just ruined my life.

Do you think you could describe some of the abuse that you suffered? I'm not sure exactly what i would class as "emotional abuse", but i expect it would be them making you feel like shit?
My dad didnt see me much, but when we started seeing each other i would always feel like nothing i could ever do would be good enough for him, and he did his best to make damn sure i felt that way, because it gave him a sense of power probably.
Does this sound like something that happened to you?

i was abused by some kids in kindergarten who pinched me so hard i still have scars today.

Yes, I was. There was physical and emotional (eg. "if I were as pathetic as you, I'd shoot my brains out") abuse, but mostly there was just not caring and a lot of rejection.

People turn evil when they're trying to impress somebody and they step on you to do it.
But it's such a natural thing to do. I don't trust my family or anyone else as a result of remembering that phase of their being, but I know that you have to get over it in order to turn into a mature adult. Hmmmmm .....

I just had the usual name calling and general rejection from other kids at school. Years of it break you down and leave mental scars, however. I still have the occasional nightmare about being back at school, trapped in the corridors and unable to find my way out ::

my dreams about school always always always always entailed numerous confusing maze-like hallways with stairwells leading to nowhere or balconies that opened up to nothing at 5 stories high. Or hallways that got smaller the further you went. Weird.

They made fun at me because I was a fat kid :'( and they told me to go away and that nobody liked me... :'(

I'm not sure if i was emotionally 'abused' so to speak, but i had a tough childhood that left me scarred. it wasn't bullying or verbal abuse it was just some hard, depressing, scary times that i still haven't gotten over, and worry about to this day
=/

I think that most of us are born with these genes, but I also believe that events shape us and bring out these genes. I was ok as a kid and I knew people didn't like me but I didn't care because I still had my "crew", but after highschool reflecting back is what made me have anxiety. I started to believe that no one liked me, and another incident in college when a "friend" started treating me like crap because of the way I acted around people due to my hyperhidrosis and this led to my anxiety about that. I never had panic attacks from smoking weed until after that year in college so I think it can form later in life. It was just a matter of time though that my anxiety developed since it was sort of pre determined in my genes. Some people just don't get fazed by this stuff, we do.

Smiley face said:

They made fun at me because I was a fat kid :'( and they told me to go away and that nobody liked me... :'(

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People always say "kids can be so cruel", but I think it's truer to say that people are cruel! But as adults (most) people learn to suppress their nasty behaviour to an extent, whereas kids just vent their thoughts and feelings without pondering on the consequences. In-yer-face bullying seems to become a bit less common as kids grow to adults, but sneaky behind-the-back comments and rumour spreading seem to increase in inverse proportion; it's just one nasty behaviour taking over from another ::

I'm not sure how to vote on this one. Abused? No. But neglected? Probably.

The most I ever got from my peers was ignored and rejected. I was never really teased or picked on too much. Maybe that's because it's always the nice, quiet ones that nobody ever expected always seem to do the most damage when set off.

Or maybe it's because I was always quiet, afraid of not being good enough, and didn't have the same interests and hobbies as most of my peers.

But there was that girl who once said she wanted to have my babies. I should look her up and see if that offer is still available....

Tiercel said:

I'm not sure how to vote on this one. Abused? No. But neglected? Probably.

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This is kind of how i feel.Im not sure if it was outright abuse as bad as some people have,but it was definatley neglect and it left me with no self esteem.I think mental abuse gets over looked aswell but it really can cause as much damage as any other type.

Its really hard to describe,because alot of it was so subtle but it did so much damage over time.My Dad was really messed up because of ptsd.He use to go out and get pissed every night,come back and smash the house up,or beat the dog with a snooker cue ::

When i was too young to know any better i really looked up to him and always wanted his like praise and reasurance.But when he wasnt getting drunk at night he would just sit on his arse all day long.Controlling my mum,telling her what she could wear..not letting her have friends.

He use to stand over her cooking and smash stuff up if he didnt like how she did it.I remember one time he threw his dinner against the wall because she had put mushrooms in,then kicked off the next day because she hadnt.We were all just scared of him and it was like walking on egg shells.I did so well at primary school...but when id come home with an A,it didnt seem to matter.Yet when i came home in trouble on the odd occasion,id get called a dick head and that id amount to nothing ect

I pretty much stopped trying when i got to high school which i regret,but at the time i felt like what was the point because no one appreciated it.My Mum was really bad with me aswell..she use to love goading us kids into answering back so she could get us into trouble,really petty stuff and she was so full of spite it was like she enjoyed having the power over us.But shes a lovley person now and i think it was because she was a victim herself.

Anyway im so stopping writing now because this is getting like a book and i could go on and on,its just nice to vent a little.

Ive been emotionally, physically, verbally abused most of my life.

NormanBates said:

People turn evil when they're trying to impress somebody and they step on you to do it.
But it's such a natural thing to do. I don't trust my family or anyone else as a result of remembering that phase of their being, but I know that you have to get over it in order to turn into a mature adult. Hmmmmm .....

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Yeh i've noticed this alot with really confident people they'll be nice to you one on one but in groups they'll shoot you down in front of everyone to make you look weaker, it always happens with my dad who is the typical alpha male (thinks he knows everything and thinks he's alway right) type persona, my former friend was the same. and even if its meant to be sarcastic it doesn't come off that way in fact it sets the atmosphere up to be awkward even if i laugh it off or respond with a counter argument.

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Yes, I started being teased for putting on a little weight when I was just 6 years old. Before that I was quite popular in school. After that I didn't lose weight for most of my school years and developed social phobia. In fact I analyze the event of my being teased as the root cause of all ruin in my life. Things started breaking after that in a domino-effect.

princess_haru said:

People always say "kids can be so cruel", but I think it's truer to say that people are cruel! But as adults (most) people learn to suppress their nasty behaviour to an extent, whereas kids just vent their thoughts and feelings without pondering on the consequences. In-yer-face bullying seems to become a bit less common as kids grow to adults, but sneaky behind-the-back comments and rumour spreading seem to increase in inverse proportion; it's just one nasty behaviour taking over from another ::

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Yes, it's true. If you watch channels like Animal Planet, you see animals fighting for food amongst themselves, or fighting for territory. Humans are animals too. They like to trample on others.

I was abused as a teenager. Mentally, emotionally, physically..
Abuse came from my family.

I was neglected by my peers in school. They just stopped noticing my excistence. There was some teasing, but mostly, it was ignoring. And damn, it hurt! But nobody noticed just how much I was hurting. I just sat in the class, alone, and tried to get through the days.

The abuse stopped when I ran away from home at 15.

Things have been better now. But I'm still scared of people. They can be so cruel.

I have great loving parents... but i verbally abuse myself...