Parents' Divorce

My parents' divorce forced me to learn more about myself--and how to take care of myself.

Life was terrible while my parents were married--and terrible while they went through the divorce process. It seems like most of the problems come from my dad. He's toxic. I still can get very upset when I think of all the things he did during that time.

At first, I tried to stuff down all of my feelings and pretend everything was fine. But the stuffed-down feelings were hurting me and getting in the way of me being happy; I had to figure out how to take care of myself.

I asked my mom if I could talk to a therapist. At first, I was afraid to talk with the therapist. Over time, the therapist helped me to feel safe so I could say what I needed to say. I had lots of sad, angry, and confused feelings I had to get out. It was very hard but also a relief to finally express me. I learned a lot from going to therapy. I've learned how to talk about my feelings when hard things happen. It's a lot easier to get the feelings out rather than stuff them down inside. Parents' divorce and a toxic dad are hard things I can't control, but I can talk about my feelings and take care of myself.