i moved out of my dads at 14 (now 17), due to abuse. my step mom destroyed my dads sense of humor and love. nothing has broken me down more than the fact that my dads not him. i ignore his calls and texts because i no longer want to be a part of that. anytime i see a happy family is breaks me. and to make it all worse, i know it makes him cry that i don’t talk to him. it’s not fair. him and my step mom have a son. they treat him so well. i want a father figure, and my dad was such a good person. and if this gets shared and you are a father.. never look your kids in the eye and tell them that they’re not better than your new wife or that they aren’t worth your time.

when i was younger (like 7-12) my dad used to hit my sisters and my mom divorced him. he rarely did it to me but he would emotionally abuse me a lot. like being manipulative and narcissistic. i’ve been to a therapist ordered by the court about it but no one ever takes me seriously because “he never really hit me” it still impacts me a lot and i try not to think about it but when i do it really messes me up. recently my moms boyfriend had asked us to move in with him and my mom said yes. my dad used to move around a lot and so the town that we’re moving to he has lived in. it’s giving me severe ptsd and anxiety and i can’t control it but my mom is telling me to get over it because hes different. well she’s had boyfriends before and they weren’t different. i can’t help feeling guilty like i’m stopping them from being happy but i’m very unsure about it. her boyfriend hasn’t given me a reason to doubt him and he’s really good to me and my younger siblings but i still worth it won’t work out.

• August 4, 2023