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Breaking the cycle
Breaking the cycle.Have you heard this phrase before? Have you ever sat and pondered what this actually means? In the foster care world we hear this a lot. Child abuse and neglect are often vicious cycles that tend to repeat themselves. We have children who are beaten and told they are worthless everyday of their life. This kind of trauma doesn’t exactly create level headed, confident teens and adults. Obviously, some abused children grow up and are determined not to let their past dictate their future. These individuals are few and far between. The amount of drive and desire this takes is truly admirable. Unfortunately, not everyone is that strong.…
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Trauma doesn’t take a vacation.
It’s 11pm. I should be in bed unwinding, maybe watching a little tv, or reading a book. Instead I’m walking around the hotel grounds, because vacations are a trigger. Since the folks in the hotel room next to us don’t understand trauma. Since slamming doors and screaming “Don’t touch me” are not acceptable things to do in a hotel room, we walk. We walk around aimlessly, in the cold, wearing our pajamas. I didn’t have time to look for my shoes, so I quickly slipped on my husbands sneakers and I could only coerce my child into flip flops without an additional melt down. You see I don’t even know…
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Hope.
This past week, I attended a memorial service hosted by S.C.A.N. of Iredell county. It was a service to remember all the children who lost their lives to child abuse and neglect in 2017 in the state of North Carolina. I have attended this same event in the past and every time, I leave there feeling extremely emotional, overwhelmed and completely helpless. I will never understand how a parent can hurt their child. I will never be ok with the fact that children die at the hands of their parents. I can not fathom why there aren’t more people there to show their support for the prevention of child abuse…
