My Dad is bipolar and hit me all the time. I wanted it to stop so bad. I just wanted someone to make it stop. I'm 26 now. College grad. Working and whatnot. I still feel sick when I think about those times. My Dad gets mad when I bring it up because he can't change things. He claims to feel bad, but other times he says I deserved it, and that it wasn't that bad. He just gets to move on while I have to feel bad for the rest if my life.
RWPossum
We're in no position to diagnose a problem but "feel bad for the rest of my life" sounds like a need for professional help.
I'll mention something that someone here said about painful memories. She said that her psychiatrist told her that just pushing the memories out of your mind is not the best approach, that you can learn to desensitize yourself to them.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the famous Buddhist monk and author, said, "Don't turn away from the feeling that troubles you. Observe it as you mediate on your breath."
That author is a leading figure in the mindfulness movement, which has resulted in a number of mindfulness-based therapies used by mental health professionals, such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, designed to help people with thoughts that trouble them.The Oxford University Mindfulness Center recommends a book based on MBCT, Mindfulness by Williams and Penman.
Anonymous
See a therapist to help you move on. Don't let him ruin the rest of your life as well.
Beave Village
Being bugged by those who were slightly older than me on the school bus still haunts me, because it was those annoying times, that shaped who I am today, and although I am generally happy with how my life turned out, there are a few gaps that should be filled--which haven't been, at all, and things that are so easy for others to do, are difficult for me.
It sucks, but I'll keep going. All the way to that finish line we call life.
rick
I remember Pearl Harbor. I remember WWII. Memories of war still haunt me. Memories of the Korean war still haunt me. My friends and classmates died in 'Nam. That's another source of haunting memories. My kids spent years in the mid-east fighting to save US oil interests. Something we would NOT need if we had started working on alternate fuels, years ago. Like McGovern suggested in his presidential campaign.