I should have been removed from my family of origin because I was not safe. No one protected me. That is a failure on the part of my entire extended family and the system. The difference between what happened to me and what is happening to my daughters is I know I am in a place right now where I am not competent to care for them as they need so I asked for help. I went out and I admitted out loud that right now I need other people to care for my children so that they can come out of childhood unscathed. I may be fighting demons but they don’t need to get hit in the cross fire.
That is what my family doesn’t understand. My sister and my mother have gone through these periods. I’ve seen this from the kid side. But what my mother and my sister did was scream at me, bring people home and have sex in front of me, basically they did anything to prove that they were bad. But they didn’t start out bad people. They started out good people who were making mistakes. They became evil because they kept doing it. Because they shame their victims and require silence about what they did. I have that potential in me.
I feel the urge to harm them. I visualize how I should do it. I have detailed pictures in my head of what I should be doing to them. And that is why I am freaking the fuck out. The images are getting more intense. I am fucking terrified of hurting my children and I don’t feel in control right now. This is the cycle. That is what is going on. This is what my mother and sister were to weak to do. They were too weak and to stupidly prideful to say, “I am weak and broken and I need help.” So they perpetuated the abuse on to the next generation after me. In the approximately 6 years since my brother broke contact with the family I have had conversations with my niece and nephew where they detailed their own sexual abuse history. My nephew was raped. That’s not my story to tell but I’m not keeping silent any more. I was told I have no right to reveal his pain. But I do. Because he was abused by the same people who abused me and I have the right to stand up and say that my sister is a disgusting monster and she should be shunned. She should be in jail. She is not a good person who makes mistakes. She is a child molester. She is filth. She deserves every bad thing in the world.
And my family is siding with her. And I sit here and freak out with these pictures in my head. I want to abuse my children the way I was abused. And I pray that my friend drives very very fast on her way to care for my children today because I am very close to the edge. I am not going to fall over it. I can hold out long enough.
Because that is how you stop this.
And I’m glad I didn’t hit send. Because I went in there and I dressed my baby more warmly because she was slightly chilly and I nursed her and I put her to bed and my older daughter asked me a bunch of questions and I answered them and then she told me to go away again because she likes watching her movies in private.
Why do I believe I am a monster who is going to harm them any second?
thank you for talking about this, krissy. a while back, probably a few months ago, i really regretted admitting (in the sa forum) that i sometimes have to fight an urge to hurt my children. nobody seemed to relate to that, which made me think, “wow, i’m a horrible person.” i really love your honesty. uh – and your bravery, because this isn’t something i’ve asked anyone for help with. it’s not something i feel safe talking about in real life. you are amazing.