1. Take responsibility for your role in your family.
2. Understand your parents are God’s tool in your life.
3. Learn to follow their advice.
4. Spend time with your parents.

Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 8:08:03 PM
i cannot say that i leave in a disfunctional home.But i can say that i deal with emotional abuse. Everything always seems to be my fault.im always called a liar.Im ALWAYS getting yelled at over the littlest ofthings.I dont understand what ive done wrong,and every time i ask my parents why they never give me a solid answer.I currently live with my aunt and uncle.If i lived with my mom things would be much different and i think that things would be a whole lot better.But because of things that happened when i was littler i dont think i can. :/
- Vanessa

Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 10:34:46 AM
It's not so much my parents I don't get along with but my older brother, ever since I can remember he's been pestering me. Like when I was 4, he used to chase me around the house with a knife and stab me for no reason. When I got out of elementry school he'd text all my friends and say that the skars, and skabs, buises were from just random stuff like tripping and such. not that I'm a freshman in high school he beats me until I cry and yells and calls me "emo". I do tell my parents and all they say is that he'll stop eventually.. My mother always takes his side of things because he's her favorite and my dad doesn't pick he'll send us to our own rooms, but I'm still afraid my brother will get to the point of hurting me seriously... I don't know what else to do.
- Avril R.

Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 - 12:03:40 AM
my parents and i have an extremely volatile relationship. Nothing i do is ever right. my dad is always at work, my mom is insane she loves her pet dogs and birds more than me. her moods flip almost every 15mins, one minutue she is nice and the next minutue she is treating me like a criminal. my dad got a job in Afghanistan for 2 years and my mom ruled the house, during his abscence she kicked me out and i struggled threw a hard young adulthood. i started living with a guy who beat me on a regular basis and when i begged for her help, they said "you made your bed lie in it". i got rid of that guy, alone, and have been putting myself threw college. i do not qualify for scholarships because i cannot prove residency anywhere...despite everything, i made the honors society. i was so proud, i made the honors society!!! i went and told my family, and my mom could care less, she acted like i was trying to rob her of her money, because i had to ask her to pay for the fee to be in it. im struggling to survive and i was hoping that for once maybe she would care. i live my life everyday trying to make her happy at my expense. i just want her approval. and i know i will never get it. it makes me so sad and jealous to see people actually be able to be friendly with their family. i sometimes feel like my mother has a mental disease and my dad struggles to take care of her, but i dont believe i will ever know the truth.
- ~ comment from a DMLive MySpace friend ~ Inferno

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 11:54:05 PM
me and my mother are always fighting shes a single mother for the past 10 yrs and i have adhd, ocd, bipoler, aspburgers, and anxiety so its taken a tole on her and she just cant stand me any more im 19 and shes always kickin me out of the house. everyday she comes home and yells at me for no reason and i dont know what to do i try to tlk with her but all she does is yell and then i lose my temper and start yelling back and it has gotten physical at points and ive punched a few holes in the wall and i dont know wat to do. me and my dad are great but i only see him once in a blue moon. i wld like to go live with them but they said i cant cause i go to college here and stuff like that so i dont know what to do plz help b4 i go nuts
- ~ comment from a DMLive MySpace friend ~ Marlaina

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 8:25:43 PM
I'm 25 and grew up in an extremely abusive and dysfunctional environment which for me started before I was ever born. At 18-20 weeks gestation, I was burned alive in the "safest" place on earth, the womb of my biological mother as a result of saline abortion yet by the Grace of God, I survived. It didn't end there and though my aunt who practically raised me was around frequently, it didn't stop. My "parents" were addicts and drunks so my abuse ranged from ectreme physical and verbal to emotional and sexual etc. When they learned my oldest brother was molesting me, they did nothing put pat him on the back and slap me in the face. It went on for years. My life growing up wasn't easy but I clung to God, who I didn't always understand but even from a young age I knew when all I could say was "Jesus" it helped BIG! Now, I'm able to help others who are where I've been and it makes a difference. I realize I went thru what I did for a purpose, to reach out to others. If you're in an abusive home, don't give up! Find a trusted friend to talk to and as hard as it may be, stay close to Jesus, He will NEVER leave or forsake you. Hang in there! Tests and trials only make you stronger,
- Brandi

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 1:12:26 AM
i wanna know how 2 get along with people as in friends & girls
- clint c.

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 1:12:04 AM
well i have pretty much been through a mentally abusive time with my family the past 4 months...my parents are in the process of a divorce and i live with my mom ...my dad doesnt talk to me... all i can say is take it day by day and always know that there is people that care about you and that can help you any way that you need it.... just count on your friends to be there for you even if you dont think they are.... thats pretty much all i had to count on when the times got way outta hand.... just tell them that you care
- jodi h.

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 12:48:44 AM
I was abused physically until I was 11 by my father. He still abuses me verbally. He hates me. I live with my mom, but she works all the time while I'm stuck having to take care of my three younger siblings. She doesn't have time for me, but I still love her and try to show it when I can.
- Nicole

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 11:50:46 PM
I am so excited for your next blog Please include verbal abuse this has greatly shaped my family and I want others to know how to deal with it in positive ways like I have
- michelle

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 9:34:26 PM
It's very important to get along with your parents. Even if they do get on your nerves getting along with them can help you in hte future. For college, cars, houses, and overall life. They've been through it all and can give you some advice.
- Michaela

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 8:47:02 PM
this is really good i some times have a hard time geting along with my parents so this helps
- Ulrich C.

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 6:41:28 PM
Hi dawson, i would not say i live in abuseive home, i wouldnt even say i have lived in a abusive home but i can say, looking at my freinds and the enviroments they live in, it definatly helps to have 2 or 3 good freinds that you can turn to anytime you need anything. i usually try and make myself to be one of those freinds they can turn to, a shoulder to lean on and someone they can confidently trust. I will go you one better than that, the best freind one will ever find- the bible even describes him as "a freind that sticks closer than a brother" and his name is Jesus Christ.<> Dawson i love the show and i listen every time you on, keep up the good work and God bless.
- Travis A

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 1:34:29 AM
okay im 15 years old. i dnt have the best relatioship with either of my parents. my mother left my dad with 6 kids by himself to raise when i was 4.i only see her about 1 or 2 times a year and she hardly ever calls. and when i would call her she wouldnt answer and wouldnt ever call back. when i do see her i make sure i show her that i love her and miss her. but i dont ever try 2 make an effort anymore to even talk to her.she lives 12 hours away from me and so its not like i can go over there every other wekend.i would like to talk to her but i cant find myself to... then there is my father. i am very greatful for him taking care of me and my brothers and sisters but i get very angry with him bcuz he dosnt trust me. when i havnt done anything to make him not trust me.and since i am the only girl in the house i am piled down with alot of work....and if i fall back on it then im not aloud to go anywhere while my 18 year old brother is running around all the time and dosnt do anything to help me out. just a couple hours ago we had gotten into a fuss bcuz i had asked him if i could go hang out with my boyfried b4 he leaves to go 2 Texas for a week. but he said no and when i asked why he had yelled at me. my father yells at me when ever i question why. i am beginning to get bitter toward him bcuz he seems to not trust me at all. and he seems to treat me like a slave and its hard to handle. i have tryed takling to him but once again he had yelled at me and i began 2 cry and i dropped it. i never yell at my dad but sometimes i would like to....i need advise on this please.
- Jessie

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 - 12:50:22 AM
This is great, but you missed one type "the mom's & dad's who doesn't care". I do try to appreciate what my dad does. I'm pretty nice to him but still he treats me like I'm not alive. I'm not at all the "good" one. Just because I'm different, he hides me. He says he is ashamed of me because of my dark make-up and black clothes. 2years ago He took me out of school and put me into home school. Now school was my life pretty much. i wasn't doing too good but at least i was happy. I didn't ever wear all black, but as soon as he took me out, i always was depressed didn't feel like doing anything, to the point where i had a few suicide attempts. When my dad found out he said, "Stop being such a drama queen and those cuts better heal before someone catches them", He cares MORE about what people think than he does me. Now i pretty much stay locked in my room. Cause I just don't want to deal with how worthless he thinks i am and how i can't do anything right. I don't think their is anyway to fix what we have. Is there a way i could somehow fix it or is there no way? xXx Mash/Chelsea P.S. I love your show so much that i put a link to your website on my site on myspace. Thanks for all your help!
- Mash

Monday, Oct 27, 2008 - 7:16:30 PM
hey dawson, love your show. its helped me with some of my probs and i dont even call in. but uhmm.....if your in an abbusive situation....DUH you need to get out or tell some one. i dont have the greatest relationship with my mom but i find that talking it out with my friends helps..if your in that sort of situation maybe you could do some thing like that?? but you dont need to ignore it. itll only get worse. tell a friend, a family member, some one you can trust. you need to get out or get help.
- nicole

Monday, Oct 27, 2008 - 2:00:11 AM
Do not respond to the abuse, walk away. Stay away. Get out as soon as you can, before it is too late. It will kill you if you don't. I've been though such situations. It broke my heart but saved my sanity. Please, let your voice be heard, seek assistance. It's out there. DM Live is awesome!
- ~ comment from our DMLive MySpace friend ~ Fiddlei

Monday, Oct 27, 2008 - 1:36:27 AM
I lost my mother when I was 20 and she was my best friend. I think you should look at it like this, you dont know when there last day is or yours is. They may not come across in the right way, but they do have your best interest at heart. Forgive, try to forget and move on. You only live once and tomorrow might not come.
- ~ comment from our DMLive MySpace friend ~ Cherika

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 11:41:17 PM
i dont get along with my dad all to well at all but when i joined the army in may it helped me realize that all i have to do is stay in my house for just a lil bit longer till i grad high school. basic training tought me alot about being patient if i wanted somethin bad enough i would more than likely get it. and when i got back from basic me and my dad got into a high argument. after that i went and lived with a friend of mine for a lil while untill everything blew over but if in someones case it dont blow over talk to your friends and ask them if u can live with them or if you are real good friends and know their parents, personally talk to them. or even talk to ur family members like ur fav cousin or a aunt or uncle or something.
- mike

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 11:21:39 PM
Living in an abusive home is horrible. You feel like everything is your fault and that nothing you do is right. I was abused until I was 8 years old. First emotionally and somewhat physically abused by my mother, and then strongly physically abused by my stepmother. While going through this, I had noone to turn to but my best friend, she saw it happen but could do nothing or else I would have been killed. Luckily, one day I came home from my grandparent's house and my stepmother had left. If your being abused, tell someone, stay at a friends house, do something just don't stay there.
- li

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 10:57:42 PM
sweet!
- ashley

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 10:49:21 PM
This blog really helped me. I live in kind of a crazy and messed up situation, where it seems like one after another things just fall apart. One thing that has always stayed the same throughout my whole life has been my dad's addiction to alcohol. As you can imagine, a lot of hurt, pain, and awful expierences has gathered up, and sometimes things can seem unbearable. My dad has done and said some things to me that no one deserves to have done to them. Even though I dont think I will ever get over it, I just wanted to let you know that your blogs have really helped me. I have also been going back to church, which has turned my life around as well. Thank you so much for caring, and please keep up all that your doing. God Bless.
-

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 10:46:14 PM
I unfortunately live in an abusive home. It has been physical in the past, but now it is mostly physical. my parents treat me so bad and I really don't understand why. I try to please them but it never seems to work. I fight with my parents all the time, about everything. They call me names, force me to have a lot of responsibility and treat me so different from my sister who is special needs. My parents will give her anything she wants, and they don't do that for me. I have done a lot to try to escape from it all from smoking to drinking to cutting. I am addicted to all of that because of my parents. I have been in counseling for the past year and I was doing pretty good, but the fighting is back and more intense, so after all the counseling i've had over the past year i am basically back to the same place i was a year ago. I hate living here so much and I cannot wait to get out which won't be for another 2 years because i'm only 16. There are days where I don't even wanna get up in the morning cuz i don't feel like dealing with it. This house makes me so depressed. I just hope my counselor will continue to help me and hopefully be able to get through to my parents to make them see what they're doing to me.
- Kaitlyn

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 9:17:41 PM
im lucky enough to come from a non-abusive home so i know i cant say i completely understand what thats like, but i will say this: i read somewhere, "a house is made of brick and stone, a home is made of love alone." basically what im saying is, and Dawson says this on his show, get away from the abuse and move into a place where you feel loved with people you trust
-

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 9:12:06 PM
Dawson, Dysfuntional family's is a real emotional thing for me. I am the youngest of the family. My entire family is open and popular and my family is disappointed that I'm not as open and not as popular as them. Well, I've had many deaths in the family and my mom is thinking about divorcing my dad. She's even giving me advice to plan about who I'm going to live with cuz I'm not a legal adult yet *rolls eyes*. Anyways, my advice for emotional is to find a way to let it out in something you love to do rather it's art, writing, in sports, your work, something. Emontional is suck an easy way to get better, and it's easy to fight back. Physical, call the police, they will help in some sort of way. Sexual, once again, call the police. Verbal abuse, just blow it off, but if it starts to get really bad, tell them that it's not funny and to stop. If they don't, then say something really mean to them and say "How do you like it?". Adbandonment is why my mom wants to leave my dad. He was at a neighbors, drunk. He didn't call home or my cell to check on me, he didn't answer his cell when I called, nothing. And I get home from school at 3 and my mom get's home from work at 9:30. My dad left the same time as my mom and didn't come home until nearly an hour later then my mom. The house was wide open. ANYTHING coulda happened to me. Thank God we live in the country. If that happens to you, TELL SOMEONE!!!! If they are caring, they will try to help get those people or person to stop abandoning you or they will call child services (if your a minor, that is...). There is always help out there, sometimes from people you least expect. There is always hope, dont give up on it, cuz if you do, your basically giving up on living and loving. Life is to short and to important to live with no hope. Trust someone who has been and will be again to there own personal Hell. No pune tended. PS I'm only 15, so if it's not good, gimme a break. I'll get wiser and smarter as I get older. Tho, half my friends think I'm already to wise...*laughs*
- Maria

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 8:13:48 PM
Hey Dawson, I really don't really live in a dysfunctional family. I live with both my biological mom and dad, my mom got pregnant when she was 18 with a differant guy before she met my dad, so my brother lives with us too. I live in a pretty good home I was never abused physically, but my mom has this strange way of doing things and she abuses in the way of controlling me to the point that I feel if I don't please her I feel like my heart breaks becuz I'm breaking hers. She controls me in the way that she guilts me into everything, going to the store, being with my boyfriend haniging out with friends, she feels if I'm not spending time with her or doing what she wants me to, she feels empty and she plays it in the way that I feel Horrible, which is why I got into cutting. She controlled me in the way that I could not say ANYTHING to anyone about problems within our family that nothing could go outside of our house, it hurts. My dad foesn't do anything he just sits back and watches and my mom does it to him in a certain sence. I felt so trapped in my own home I thought man times of commiting suicude. most people would look at me and go are you kidding me that's nothing, they are right to a certain extent I havn't gone thru probably half the stuff others have, and yet I'm living in my own hole. It seems like theres no ladder to climb up and get out. I've realized that God will do anything he can to reach his arm out and grab you but he does it in his own time and only if you want him too.
- Jenn

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 7:22:36 PM
When I was a kid, both of my parents were very abusive. But there were two things I learned that really helped me while I was growing up. The first was realizing that it wasn't my fault - that I didn't make them act that way and that I didn't deserve what was being done to me. It's so easy to fall into a trap of self-blame. You feel like you're more of an adult then your parents are, so you accept responsibility for things that are actually their responsibility. "I should have known better than to say that" you tell yourself, or "they wouldn't get so angry if I didn't mess up all the time." But those are lies. The truth is that your parents are sick people. And it's not your fault that their sickness is effecting your life. The second thing I learned is that the one thing you're parents will never be able to control is your emotions. Only you can control that. They may do things to try to make you feel angry or helpless or hopeless, but you don't have to give them that part of yourself. You don't have to believe what they tell you or allow them to break your spirit. How they treat you is their choice; but how much you let them control the way you feel - that's your choice. If you can learn to control your own feelings, regardless of what they do or don't do - that's what will sustain you. That's what will keep you strong. That's what will help you survive.
- Anonymous

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 5:50:34 PM
Hey Dawson I love your show. My parent were married very young and by the time I was 18 months got divorced. My dad has never been much of a father her completly cut ties when I was seven then regreted it and came back into my life when I was 14. I just turned 20 and though he came back into my life he is still not much of a father. Sometimes I don't hear from him for 2-3 months. My mother remarried when I was 3 so my stepfather has been my "dad" since my father wasn't there much and didn't live in the same state but once my mom and stepdad had a child together I all of the sudden couldn't do anything right. I was recently diagnosed with anxiety and my therapist thinks that it was triggered by my feeling of never being good enough for either of my "dads" as well as a chemical imbalance. The best advice that I could give anyone with emotionally abusive parents is to realize you have worth and know that you are great in the sight of God. It took me 20 years but I finally realized that. Also Dawson I would love to see a blog done about mental disorders like anxiety and depression. You see so much of it in todays society and it would be nice to see some ways that people with the illnesses cope. Thanks for all that you do and God Bless! -Cera
- Cera

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 2:01:07 PM
My friend's parents were 17 when they had her. She hasn't seen her father since she was 4 because her mother hates him. She basically just leans on us when she is having a hard time. If you live in a dysfunctional home, you just have to thank G-d that you're in this world and look for the good things in your life. It may be hard, everyone has things to be thankful for, even if it's just having a roof over your head and food to eat. The best you can do is hope and wait and make the best of what you've got.
- Samantha

Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 - 1:50:11 AM
I feel that most people are Jaded due to their living in a home where they have been hurt in some way. In this Jadedness they become bittet and cyncial.I speak from experience. My father has always been very verbualy abussive to my brother and I for as far back as I can remember. He'd tell us that we would never ammount to anything, and would never be a " real man" like himself.. some "real man" huh? I recall at a young age, deciding that my father was dead to me would be the best option to push out his negativness. My father lied to the family about having throat cancer, after my beloved grandfather passed away with cancer. My senior year of High school he told me not even to consider him as my father.. Although I had the mentailty that my father was dead, that left a scar. But as I have gotten older and closer to God, I find that my dad had it all wrong. I admit that I hated him for years and could care less about the man. I drew close to God and Godly friends. Now I am a very active member of a great church, doing well in the business field, and being everything my father said i wouldn't... I would advise anyone living in a situation similar to mine to reach out to God for comfort, He makes all things better in his time. Draw close to Church Family and friends. Don't let the negativeness of one person make you jaded and cyncial toward live it self. there is so much more out there... and I found hope in knowing that one day I would be out of the mess and on a better path. that is what kept me going. and I pray it does the same for those out there who are in the same situaion i was. God bless
- Justin

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 11:45:45 PM
Iuse to live an an abuseive home and I have never really got over it. I don't know what to do I've had visions of killing the one who hurt me and also of killing my self. I nolonger trust people and I can't have any type of love instrest because I don't really know what love is. Please help me!!!
- carolyn

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 10:34:11 PM
Many of my friends have problem with there familys. we see more and more parents getting divorced and the relationships between the children and parents are never good. In my situation my parents are still together but there are deffinitly times i do not get along with them. as you grow up theres not much problem since your young. when you reach about 10 or early teenage years thats when it starts. I come from very strict parents. my mom is all about have values in life and live up to then. shes very old fashioned and doesnt understand alot of what i try to explain. my dad came from a very complicated family and was very advanced in some things at young ages but for some reason hes very strict. when i was thirteen i started dating a certain boy who my parents just hated and no matter what i did they werent happy with it. so for them i ended it (good thing caz now hes in jail) after that around 14 i got caught with pot and alch. and hydros. they completly lost it and stopped trusting me. the next year was soo hard i never got along with them and always left the house. now that im 16 and have grown up a bit ive come to realize no matter how strict paretns are or not they carea about you and only make the best. ive worked really hard at getting trust back and i have the best relationship with my parents..more my mom than my dad but still. Trust is the biggest thing when it come to relationships and thats what helped me. thank you so much dawson for this blog.it is a great!!
- Ali

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 8:37:24 PM
The problem is most people never find a way to deal with what has happened to them because they are still too hurt. My ways of dealing with what is happening around me is not helpful at all so no need to put them down. But some thing to think about abuse begets abuse. Some one has hurt them and now they are hurting you because of that. Please do not let what happened to you happen at your own hands to your children.
- Lauren

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 6:57:44 PM
this is long but here it goes.. well, i dont come from a physically abusive home but verbally and emotionally its hell... at BOTH of my houses. my parents have been divorced since i was 5. mom lives in utah, dad lives in california. i lived with my dad and grandma at first after the separation. it took a couple years before things started getting bad. he would never do anything to help out, he didnt work or anything but he was the first to yell at me. it was always something. he even yelled just in basic conversation. i couldnt take it anymore when i was in 7th grade so i moved out with my mom and stepdad. things were ok at first. i got good grades and started making friends. but then i got a job at 16. i worked full time plus went to school full time. with that, my social life and chores started falling behind. i was yelled at almost every day. i remember one time my stepdad was yelling at me for holding a spoon under the running water too long when i was doing the dishes. nothing was ever fair, and i felt like the red headed step child. ever since i got a job i felt like a tenant in my own home. i payed rent, and wasn't provided for. i had to buy my own shoes, clothes, groceries, and even SOAP. there were times i couldnt even shower because i didnt have the money for soap or shampoo, and my shoes had holes in the soles literally through them. so when i walked i could feel my feet hitting the pavement. wherever i went it wasn't getting any better so i figured out i just have to deal with it as best as i knew how. for me, the only choice i had was to go to an alternative school... it was the 3-6 program at my high school. i only went to school for 3 hours a day, giving me more time to work and focus on not getting kicked out. it really sucked not graduating with my friends, but it was worth it in the end. i just graduated, and im getting ready to move out on my own. i used it to learn how to manage my own money and become independent. im not going to rely on anyone but myself now, which i think is important. it was really hard to see how i could get anything out of it at the time, but you have to be strong and just look forward to the day you get out of there. the most important thing you can do though, is let out your feelings, before you explode and do something irrational like commit suicide or cut, which i did alot of. i turned to poetry and songwriting. i could let out my feelings and share them with people while at the same time sending a message that you can make it through your tough times. if you keep the hate inside, it only multiplies by 10 and leads to disaster. anyway, thank you for reading. i hope this helped SOMEONE.
- Celeste

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 5:06:21 PM
Dawson,I grew up in a home where my dad had a short temper and got angry easily.he was not really physically abusive but more verbally than anything.
- Ben

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 12:43:16 PM
I do not have the best relationship with my parents. My mother's and I relationship has been on the rocks for the last six years after my parents divorce. We didn't talk from the time i was eleven until right before my junior year in high school. After that we got on the right track but i was told to have a nice life and to never call her again because i got a tattoo on my eighteenth birthday. That was eight days ago and she's made no attempt to contact me. My dad is severley depressed and barely ever has time for me. Through all of this its very hard to respect them even though its the right thing to do. I often feel helpless but i won't ever give up.
- Kaitlin

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 11:13:48 AM
I've had problems with my parents for 8 years or so. My dad is in the Navy so he's always been really strict and not easy to talk to, and my mom has always..."called it like it is". I cannot recall a time between my turning 14 and now ((I'm 17)) where she took my side for anything I came to her with. There was one point where I just lost complete trust in the understanding of adults. I came home and told my mom about being called fat by a guy at school, and she sat there and called me fat herself to my face. It was that argument where I decided adults just didn't give a flip about the feelings of teens. I also decided that talking was overrated and that I didn't ever want to talk about my problems again. That argument knocked out what little self-confidence I had; I felt that I was unattractive, worthless, and just doomed to failure. I attempted to run away on more than one occasion, but always found a reason to stay. Last year ((2-3 years after this argument took place)), I became involved with my church's youth group and it was one of the greatest choices I've ever made. My youth pastor is the most understanding guy I know, and the friends I have now are the closest friends I've ever had. When I get into quarrels with my parents, I pray to God for the strength I need to get past the fights, and then I'll call and talk to someone until I feel better.
- Courtney

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 9:54:02 AM
I don't want to hug them, talk to them, go places with them, let alone have a relationship with them. They think that they get along with me, but I really hate being around them.
- Grey

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 2:08:43 AM
Of course, if the abuse is physical, you probably need to get away from the house if at all possible. Find someone you can trust and seek their help. Besides that, one of the biggest things someone who lived in an abusive home needs to do is to learn how to forgive. It's not easy, but building up hostility towards the abuser(s) will not help anything. Also, the person needs to remember that what's happening is not his or her fault. Even if they're at first being punished for something they did wrong, there's a BIG difference between punishment and abuse. Most importantly, don't sit around thinking: "Oh, it'll get better." Chances are, it won't; abuse is NEVER something to be taken lightly. Jonathan
- Jonathan

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 1:43:40 AM
well i havent been in an abusive relationship or ahve one with my parents but i have a friend who was in that kinda household.an the main thing was jus helping her to deal with that kinda house or home. we lived in the same neighborhood so she could just walk to my house if she ever needed to tlk or anything. But i think if you are in that house or home that you need to find a good friend. someone you kno u can go to, to tlk about anything or to jus cry or hang out with if you just need to get out. Prayer helps also. jus praying by yourself or with your friend will make you feel a lot better...
- riah

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 1:27:24 AM
What I dont get is what if you dont love your parents, if they dont deserve you to show them "you appreciate them" if you dont even appreciated them at all then why would you pretend like you do? And If i was giving advice to someone who is in an abusive home, then I would say just to stay away from them as much as you can, like hang out with your friends more, and make sure you have friends. because usually they got your back, and they can be there for you when you need them, when your parents cant.
- anonymous

Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 - 12:13:46 AM
I have never really had a good relationship with my parents. I try to talk to them, but it seems like everything else is more important than me. I love my parents with all my heart but i dont know how to tell them that i just want some love and attention more often.
- Heather

Friday, Oct 24, 2008 - 9:37:25 PM
I lived in a abusive, hazardous family situation my entire life. My dad started sexually abusing me at 6 years old, and it went on until I was 11. It was hard to deal with. I used to pretend that it didnt happen, but it did, and there isnt anything I can do about it. I never figured out a healthy way of dealing with it. I was anorexic for years, I used to cut myself, I was suicidal. I hated my life. And honestly the only advice is try to get out. My life got so much easier when I moved to college. Its a safe haven that you need. You need safety, and friends you can trust. And God, you have to rely on God, all the time, or You'll NEVER make it through.
- Emily

Friday, Oct 24, 2008 - 6:10:25 PM
how do you get your parents to be happy when they're stressed out almots every day
- megan

Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 - 11:51:14 PM
this is what i cant wait to hear about.its one of the most difficult things for ppl to understand if they arent going thru it.my best friend was so insensitive when things were bad at home and i needed t oget out.she lvies about 5 miles away and cud easily drive to my house to come and get me but she wud never feel like it.i rmeemberone day my dad kicked me out of my house with no shoes, no fone, no nuthin and left me o nthe street,i went to the gas station and called her and shes like "wut do you want me to do?"nobody is EVER there for you when u need them when ur in difficult situations.ALL your friends tell u if it ever happens u call them n they will be right over, but when it all comes down to it,nobody cares bout anybody but themself,no one cares.only if its convenient for them,IF they FEEL LIKE IT,r they gonna help u out and be there for you when u need to leavea difficult situation,your on your own.ive never once had a friend there for me if i called and needed one and things were difficult.you get SO tired of your friends tellign you to"jsut call the cops" as if its so easy.thats way easier said then done.i was always told never to ever tell anyone and if i ever called the cops it wud destroy everything.so i never did.and i always suffered.with my dad drinking and violence.and the hardest part dawson is never having anyoen who cared or was there for me.you can tell my anger when i talk about it. idont even know why i call her my best friend.so many times i nthe summer,i wud just go to the park and swing all by myself.i spent my summer running from him and laying under slides at the park.it was awful.i cant stand my fathers anger.
- emily

Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 - 10:21:44 PM
This really opened my eyes more and showed me that even though I appreciate my parents, I sometimes forget that I need to show them that I do care. Thank You Dawson for posting your blogs, I've read alot of them and the ones I read that I related to made me see things in a better perspective.
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