Child Abuse Effects Quotes

“A person raised in a healthy family is equipped to live a confident and independent life; someone from an unhealthy family is filled with fear and self-doubt. He has difficulty with the prospect of life without someone else. The devaluing messages of control and manipulation create dependency so those who most need to leave their family of origin are the least equipped to do so.”
― Christina Enevoldsen

“Inside, my soul became so cold I hated everything. I even despised the sun, for I knew I would never be able to play in its warm presence.”
― Dave Pelzer, A Child Called "It"

“Children of narcissists learn that love is abuse. The narcissist teaches them that if someone displeases you, it is okay to harm them and call it love.”
― M. Wakefield, Narcissistic Family Dynamics: Collected Essays

“One must consider that small children are virtually incapable of making much impact on their world. No matter what path taken as a
child, survivors grow up believing they should have done something differently.
Perhaps there is no greater form of
survivor guilt than “I didn't try to stop it." Or “I should have told." The legacy of a helpless, vulnerable, out-of-control, and humiliated child creates an adult who is generally tentative, insecure, and quite angry. The anger is not often expressed, however, as it is not safe to be angry with violent people. Confrontation and conflict are difficult for many survivors.”
― Sarah E. Olson

“For the child of a pathological narcissist, love is having your personality rejected and replaced with one the narcissist prefers. Love is neglect, abandonment, tyranny, and subjugation.”
― M. Wakefield, Narcissistic Family Dynamics: Collected Essays

“Love is intermittent reinforcement with spouses and children alike. The child is love-bombed when the narcissist feels the child reflects their false self. The moment the child fails to do so, the narcissistic parent blithely discards them.”
― M. Wakefield, Narcissistic Family Dynamics: Collected Essays

“I read therefore I write.”
― John David Lionel Brooke, Mother Lode

“It was not until I did my family genogram as part of my Masters in Counseling Psychology training that I learned of some of the devastating, traumatic events that had impacted my family-of-origin. Many genograms my clients have done as part of their family systems exploration reveal sudden, unexpected deaths (including suicides); illness; stillbirths; divorce; abandonment; 'missing' relatives'; and profound financial setbacks and losses.”
― Rebecca C. Mandeville, Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed: Understanding Family Scapegoating Abuse