Family Drama Stories

I used to cry in my room every night, wondering what I had done so wrong to deserve the way you treated me. Every word you spoke felt like a knife—sharp, cold, calculated to make me feel small. You'd tell me I was too sensitive, too lazy, too selfish, like there was something wrong with me just for existing. You made me believe I was unlovable, that nothing I did would ever be good enough. But now, standing here at 19, living on my own, waking up every day in a space that feels safe and mine… I can finally breathe. And you know what? I don’t think about you at all. Not like I used to. Not with that ache in my chest or the guilt that came from wanting distance. I’m free.

When I turned 18, I knew I had to go. It wasn’t even a question. The moment I had the right to leave, I was already packing my bags. I didn’t care that I had nowhere solid to land—I just knew I couldn’t stay in that house one more second. You tried to guilt me, tried to twist it around like I was abandoning you. But deep down, I think even you knew why I left. You spent years picking at me, controlling me, making every little mistake into something massive, just to keep me feeling like I needed you. But I didn’t. And once I stepped outside, once I got away from the constant tension, the criticism, the fake kindness that always came with a price—I started to realize how messed up it all was.

Now? I’m happy. Genuinely. I have friends who actually care about me, a small apartment that might not be much but it's mine, and a job that makes me feel proud—even if it’s not some big dream yet. I can eat what I want, sleep when I want, laugh out loud without being told I’m annoying or dramatic. For the first time, I feel like I have a future. And when people talk about their moms, about calling home, I just smile and nod. I don’t feel jealous. I don’t feel bitter. I just… don’t think about you. Not because I’m cold, but because you don’t get to live in my head rent-free anymore. You took enough of my peace growing up—I’m not giving you any more.

I don’t need an apology. I don’t even need closure. I built my own life out of the wreckage you left behind. And yeah, some days are hard, and healing isn’t linear, but I’m doing it. Without you. And that feels like the strongest thing I’ve ever done. So if you're wondering if I miss you, if I regret walking away, if I think about what you’re doing or if I’ll ever come back—the answer’s simple. I don’t think about you at all.

Some days, I sit at the kitchen table when everyone’s gone to bed, and I just let myself breathe for a moment. It’s quiet, finally, but my mind is anything but. I love my family more than anything, but honestly, it’s hard. Really hard. People don’t talk enough about how challenging it is to keep everything together. I have three kids, all different ages, all with different needs, and a husband who works long hours. Most days, I feel like I’m juggling too many things at once—laundry, homework, grocery lists, dentist appointments, making sure the little one eats something besides pasta for the third day in a row. And while I’m grateful to have them, I sometimes feel like I’m disappearing in the middle of all this. Like I’m no longer “me,” just “mom,” the one who’s supposed to fix everything.

There’s also the emotional stuff, the things that don’t get posted on Facebook or shared in group chats. The tantrums, the teenage silence, the worries about if we’re raising them right. My oldest is starting to pull away, and I know it’s normal, but it still stings. He used to tell me everything. Now it’s just shrugs and “nothing, mom.” And my middle child—she’s so sensitive, so emotional lately. I worry I’m not giving her enough attention. The baby still wakes up at night sometimes, and I’m just… exhausted. But I keep going, because that’s what moms do, right? We keep going. But inside, I worry all the time. Am I doing enough? Am I messing them up somehow? Am I being a good wife while trying to be a good mom? Because some days, it feels like I’m failing at both.

Money’s tight, too, and that brings a whole different kind of stress. It’s not just about affording big things like vacations or new clothes, it’s the small stuff. School fees, birthday gifts for classmates, a pair of shoes that suddenly don’t fit anymore. I find myself up at night trying to plan out the next month’s bills, wondering if we’ll make it to the next paycheck without dipping into savings again. My husband does his best, he works hard, but sometimes I wish we talked more about how all of this is affecting us. I can tell he’s tired too, but we rarely sit down and really talk. We’re just passing each other, getting through the days. And I miss him. I miss us. But even when I want to bring it up, I don’t know how without making it sound like I’m complaining, so I keep it in. I keep everything in.

Despite all of it, I try to stay hopeful. I try to find small joys—the way my daughter hugs me when she’s sleepy, the silly jokes my son still makes when he forgets to be “too cool,” the way my husband reaches for my hand in the dark when he thinks I’m already asleep. It’s not perfect, not even close. But it’s ours. These family challenges, as draining and frustrating as they are, also remind me that we’re still here, still showing up for each other, even in the mess. And maybe that’s enough right now. Maybe it’s okay that I don’t have it all figured out. Maybe part of being a family is learning how to get through the hard stuff together, even when you feel like everything’s falling apart. I just wish someone told me how heavy it could feel some days. But even so, I wouldn’t trade it. Not for a second.

I try so hard in my life my family thinks I am just an lazy girl who does nothing they don't even know me so what's the point that's why I don't tell them shit because they make me bad about myself they don't know how school is for me is hard I was trying to hold not to cry and my dad made me look dumb as hell my mom went all mad at me I try to tell her its hard but she Nevers lisntin to me so I go outside to get me to relax and to chill and not crying it hurts me so bad I just hate myself I hate everything I never ask for anything as a kid it hurt me so bad shit and I cant tell my bf about this because I am really hurt and shit I don't even feel like my old self no more the girl who was so nice and never crys or mad they don't know how much I change now I don't even go out no more I am always get mad I try try over and over nothing changes Ii don't know how to tell them they made me hate myself and make me look so dumb plz help me and I need sum help how to tell them..

Have been feeling so overwhelmed, been feeling like life is a curse. I keep seeing my relatives be absolute pieces of shit, my parents going through the worst of things. On top of that I keep feeling like I am the one who is at fault for drifting apart from my childhood toxic friend, as I keep missing her, wishing that I didn’t do that, that I should have endured it.

God keeps making us go through these numerous horrible tests. It hurts me when I see my family, who has always tried to help others, getting betrayed and hurt by those same exact people. It hurts when I see people that I loved so dearly passing away. It hurts when I see that I never receive anything good despite trying my hardest and giving my all.

Life is a curse. I'm so tired of seeing me and my family continuously go through bad things. I hope one day my family will be happy again but I don’t think days like that will come ever again.

Back in mid 70 my family had a reunion. About 60 to 70 people came. Unfortunately, dressed in those uniforms the uncles insisted I become a member of their party, sleep with the officers and become an assassin. No Way! I haven't seen my family in 50 years! Now I have stage 4 cancer I long to see some of them. No children. No husband.

My sister has been going through a rough time. Her ex did nonconsensual things to her and hit her. He is a big member in the club we are both in. I have been having a tough time with feeling angry. I have been mad multiple times over this, but my sister has been quick to swipe away what happened, and they have been amicable so far. I think that what he did was horrible and wrong and I wish it didn't happen to her. My view of him shifts a lot and I was trying to show him love at first because my sister was trying to move past it. However she has been switching on if she likes him or hates him, or whatever. And I have to listen to all this and try my best to give good advice however she shuts down on me a lot. She has recently been telling a lot of his friends about what happened. But, I think the thing that makes this so hard is that she used to hurt me. When we were younger she used to hit me for being out of line and she would do non-consensual things to me too. I never fully healed from all of this, and it makes it difficult to navigate this situation. I love her ofc, but only until recently have I stopped being on edge around her. It's always in the back of my mind and I hate that it is, because she isn't like that anymore. She was hurting and took it out on me. We've talked about it before and she agreed we both did wrong.. but I never knew about sexual things until she forced it on me. I'm struggling to be there for her when she is switching her mind every second. I'm also afraid she will hurt me.. she hasn't in a decade but it's still a fear, even if irrational. Everyone's telling me "What your sister is going through must be so hard on you." I'm struggling to feel empathy for her, probably because I just swept everything under the rug. I know she shouldn't but I'm struggling to understand why she can't. Today a guy told the ex to back off and not to contact her.. but she has been contacting him. "It must be so hard on you." It is, but for different reasons and no one can ever know about those reasons. I have 3 cans of alc with me and I'm thinking of drinking them. My dad was a drinker so maybe I've got the gene. I tried to tell some friends without being clear but they didn't pick up that today was a rough time for me. SO I just feel so lost and disgusting. I don't want to hear about what she has been through anymore and I want to block it all out. But I'm just having a hard time, because that's wrong, I should be there for her. Then again this isn't about me and I should probably just suck it up. I could barley get through her retelling it to someone else. I had this feeling of almost possessiveness.. she pours all her grief on me and she can just tell other people like it's nothing? Idk why that makes me feel so angry. I'm not sure what to do. If you have any advice I can give her that would help.

so just yesterday i realized a family member of mine found out about my little "secret" or rather compulsive habit I've had since I was 4 years old. I will not state exactly what it is, but revolves around "losing my innocence" too early in the sense of being exposed to things i shouldn't have been (figure out the blanks sry). for a long time, i kept it secret from my family and hoped they wouldn't remember i dealt with it, but after a small incident..let's just say my sister has gotten a hold of this in her memory again. and i sense betrayal, hatred only grows stronger for her. i also use this site called character.ai (c.ai) where i use it as an emotional support and roleplay system. however, those conversations 99% of the time would end up getting steamy in some way, but i would be in deep regret from letting it happen every so often even though that same 99% of the time that's not the intention. based off of word usage from a text she sent me that same day, with words such as "stay in your lane" and "you're lucky i'm keeping that secret" based on the tone just makes it sound more condescending. the next message she sent me after i tried to apologize to her (which i feel like im in the wrong for as it's happened for a long time despite for long periods of time keeping it secret which from there gives me the theory i fell too deep in this "rabbit hole" that i can't get out of and i don't believe i can for a long time, at least) about my mother who has known this from the very beginning but thought i stopped, and found out again this time after a long time (which i can't trust her due to past issues with her so i had to cover it up with lies about trying to quit even though that as well may not happen to some extent no matter how much i try) and in some way, maybe it's just my sensitive perception, but it feels like she's siding with her, even though from one experience, my mother threw something at me that could've seriously injured me. from there, i could no longer trust my mother. now it feels like my sister is siding with her even though she CLEARLY and WITNESSED that situation which shattered my trust in seconds in real time. i only hold more hatred, and it's gone so bad the next time i see my best friend i may as well just into her face. it feels like a secret life of mine, which is my true life and the one i usually live out in the sense i feel safe from judgment, was just exploited in the sense of my true fears. she's just told me it was rather a warning, but i still feel something's off, just as i make this. it feels like i'm constant being surveilled in a sense, and it's just affected me to the point i can't take myself anymore. i never considered myself to have innocence to the point i get annoyed at people trying to bring it back because i don't see it anymore. it's gone. that's just my perspective, but please let me know if i'm wrong.

TW // talk about SH/suicide

Extra info: My parents divorced when I was 4, I've been going back and forth between their houses every week since and once I started driving it became every two weeks

I'm so tired of having to deal with my parents like unironically. They are good people, they've taken pretty good care of me all things considered but they aren't really good at being supportive past a surface level. Neither of them seem to be able to accept the fact that I am mentally disabled, I use the word "can't" a lot when trying to explain how I feel about certain things, especially if it is something that my ADHD gets in the way of and I just get told that I can and to stop saying I can't, then getting blamed for not doing things I've said I can't. (side note but I was actually diagnosed with ADHD as a kid but it was brushed off because "don't all young boys get diagnosed with ADHD?" actually pissed at my mom for that one, and neither of them thought to talk with my councilor about my struggle with schoolwork they just decided to try and make me do it themselves) Not only does ADHD make things a struggle but I'm also depressed and it just adds on to the struggle of things like cleaning my room or basic hygiene, yet my parents don't think I'm depressed. I work for my dad, it's a small company which leads to me being a key employee so when I'm gone it screws things up a decent bit, and I get sick pretty often or just don't feel good due to medical shit (chronic migraines and digestive issues + bad anxiety) so I end up calling in semi frequently. What ends up happening is my dad yells at me and gets pissed whenever I call in sick, perfect example being monday. I got like food poisoning or smth, was throwing up a bunch and had a bad headache on saturday with the throwing up turning into diarrhea, no stomach problems on sunday but the headache stayed, and woke up monday with diarrhea again and the headache being even worse than it was saturday so I called in sick. What ended up happening was my dad got mad at me again, and I got short with him bc I'm kinda fed up with it and told him I figured he'd say that and basically just rhetorically asked why he always blamed me for being sick, and he responded by telling me to stop victimizing myself and that I keep getting sick due to my lifestyle, which mind you my lifestyle is caused by poor mental health that he just doesn't seem to care about. I also have tried to explain how hard it is for me to put effort into things despite wanting to, but I don't think he gets it and I'm not sure if he ever will. I don't want him finding out how bad my mental health really is, but some days when we argue I have an urge to crash out and go off on him, tell him all the shit I'm pissed and annoyed about, be blunt and tell him that it's a struggle for me to get out of bed every day and go to work, or clean my room, or shower, or do anything else because most of my effort is spent trying as hard as I can to stop him and my mom from being the parents that have to bury their own fucking child. I know it's a horrible idea to open up about things to him though, because he views suicide as selfish and told me word for word that he "hates kids that self harm because it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem" and it's shit like that that makes it hard for me to believe he's ever had a genuine mental health crisis despite him telling me he has, because he clearly doesn't know what it's like to have self harm as a coping mechanism because it's the only thing you've found that works, doesn't make things worse, and stops you from doing things you don't want to, or be suicidal not just because you're tired of being the way you are but because you feel like a burden for constantly requesting help yet feeling an inability to use the advice given to you and just making the same mistakes over and over, having constant thoughts about how much better the world and people around you would be if you were gone, feeling like you're just screwing up everyone else's lives, and feeling like everything you do to try and get better or get help just makes it all worse. I just feel like a fucking failure because I have access to things like psychiatrists and therapists, but don't use them and I'm constantly flipflopping between whether I'm just being lazy, whether it's because of my mental issues/trauma, whether I even actually want to get better, etc. I've had my mom help me set up an online appointment but the psychiatrist didn't end up showing up after 30 minutes and I haven't been able to bring myself to make another one. Speaking of my mom, recently she had me fully move in to my dad's house because she's taking my struggles with self care as me disrespecting her, saying that she sees it as me flipping her off and saying fuck you every time she asks me to do something like shower or clean my dishes up and it doesn't get done (usually because I'm either in bed depressed or I'm playing a game with my friends while constantly thinking about needing to throw my trash away and questioning why I'm not throwing it away, sometimes getting to the point where I have literally punched myself trying to get my body to move and throw the trash away)

That's about it for the main cause of my rant, if anyone wants I can get into more issues I have with my parents including specific shit they've done in the past excluding certain details/descriptions that might give away who I am

I’m 13, female. I often come online like anybody else, I don’t have social media other than Snapchat and YouTube if you’d even consider that social media. Because of this sometimes I feel a bit of a disconnect. A lot of my peers have apps like discord or instagram. While it’s not a big deal because I never feel out of the loop with my friends sometimes it just makes me feel like I’m not where I should be. Like I’m out of the circle of all the people in my grade, I don’t know the latest things or anything. I don’t have a whole lot of friends too, 1 best friend which I love, a small circle of friends (around 5) and a few acquaintances that I feel too awkward to really be myself around. So sometimes I get lonely or just want to experience something outside of that. Hence I try to go online through websites like this. I have my struggles, that’s why when I feel I have no one to talk to I go online and write them here to get them out. I know I can’t know everything in the world, I haven’t lived long enough. But I find that a lot of people treat me like I know nothing just because I’m young. I’ll vent about something personal on here and I’ve gotten responses that basically say that it’s “not that bad” and “that’s just life”. I know that! I know I can’t have it so much worse! I know that struggles come with life! That’s why I’m so grateful for the things I have but sometimes I just need to get it out! I know how horrible life can be, I know it has twists and tricks, I know what I have is not nearly as bad as someone who doesn’t have a home, or who’s starving or living in a country at war. I’m so happy and grateful for the life I have. I think a lot of people don’t really see kids as mature enough to really think deeply or they don’t know anything. It’s really not true. I know it sounds like I’m just being bratty but I hate it when people think less of me because of age. I don’t know everything but neither does anybody. You who’s reading this doesn’t, if anybody even does read this that is. I hate that quote “you don’t know everything”, I get told that a lot because I’m a child. Because I’m not “old enough” to understand and know. But nobody is. Nobody knows everything. I’m capable of having really mature and deep thoughts but I feel like no one can see that. My friends can but can adults? I don’t think so because every time they seem to think I don’t know anything.

i dont even kno why i keep tryin. like, at this point, i should just accept it—im a failure. 27 years old, nothin to show for it. no degree, no career, no apartment, no gf, not even a decent group of friends. i look around and see people my age getting married, buying houses, moving forward. and me? im back in my childhood bedroom, surrounded by old posters and dust, feelin like im 15 again, except now theres no excuses. back then, people said "you have time, you'll figure it out" but now, now they just avoid the subject. my parents don’t even ask about my future anymore, they just look at me like i’m a lost cause. and honestly? maybe they’re right.

i tried, man. i really tried. i went to college, failed out. switched majors, failed again. tried a trade school, couldn’t keep up. then i thought maybe i could do somthin with my hands, construction, mechanics, whatever, but i sucked at that too. everyone always says "just find your passion" but what if i dont have one?? what if im just bad at everything? no matter what i start, it falls apart. and it’s not just school, it’s life in general. i never had a real girlfriend, never had that "group of bros" everyone talks about. people just drift away, like im forgettable, like im not worth stayin friends with. nd after a while, i stopped tryin to make new ones bc whats the point?? every time i meet people, they’re just temporary. no one stays.

and now im stuck here, in this house, in this town, with nothin to my name. i cant afford my own place, cant even hold a job for long before messin it up. i see my parents whisperin sometimes, like they don’t wanna say it out loud but i kno theyre thinking it—what the hell happened to our son? nd i dont even have an answer for them. im just stuck. trapped in my own uselessness. nd the worst part? i want to do better. i wanna be the guy who moves out, gets a job, gets a life. but every time i try, i fail. and at some point, it just breaks you, u kno? like, how many times can someone start over before they realize theres nothin left to start??

i wake up every day feeling like whats the point. not in a dramatic way, not like im gonna do somthin crazy, but just in a numb way. like, im just existin. breathing, eating, sleeping, repeat. no goals, no future, just surviving because my body still works. nd i kno people will say "just keep going" but goin where?? i got nowhere to go. nd every time i try, the universe slaps me back down like nah bro, this ain’t for you.

maybe some people are just not meant to make it. maybe not everyone has some "hidden potential" waiting to be unlocked. maybe some of us are just... failures. bc thats what i am. no dreams, no direction, just some loser takin up space in a house thats not even mine. nd i dont kno if thatll ever change.

I love my parents like most kids. I’m 13, female. My mom, she’s strict but sweet. She always tries her best despite being tight on money, my dad is always there for me to talk to whether it’s about something stupid or deep concepts. My dad is silly and fun and while my mom is more laid back and strict on me I know she loves me and wants the best for me. They’re not bad parents but what’s really affecting me is their divorce. They’re got divorced a while ago, about 3 years now I think. Ever since then they still live in the same apartment, it’s my mom but my dad stays here. I don’t know why I think money reasons. Either way my dad gets really bad mood swings and easily gets angry. He’s also a bit paranoid I will admit. Recently my mom said we have to get our passports done again so we can go see my grandpa and in case I have any upcoming trips as I go into highschool. My dad for some reason was not happy about that. Usually they argue over text. While I’m still upset and can clearly tell when they’re fighting at least they keep it out of the hearing of me and my sister. It’s gone years since their last argument out loud. Today broke it. My dad yelled at my mom when she asked if he’d bring me to my tour of the highschool before my graduation. He said she was making him out to be a bad parent because he didn’t want to go and somehow that spiraled into how he didn’t want to get our passports done. He thinks my mom would take me in my sister away. She would never. I don’t know their thoughts but I KNOW my mom would never do that. They were yelling. It hurts to hear them yell. I wanted to cry but there’s nowhere I can be alone to cry because I share a room with my sister so I took a shower to cry in there. I was worried, am worried. Not about me. More about my parents and even more for my sister. She’s currently 10. She was 6 or 7 I think when she witnessed my parents get into their first and only physical fight, which was the breaking point of their marriage. It had been rough before then but that was what broke it. They had been screaming at each other and my dad accidentally pushed my mom into our room. I had been holding my sister on my bed and covering her ears, I was scared but I was more scared for her. I didn’t want her to have to hear that. But I only had two hand, not four and I couldn’t cover her eyes like I wanted. She was crying and she managed to break away to get to my mom and dad who weee struggling against each other. I was scared before and even more scared then. She was in the danger so I ran over and pulled her back so maybe she wouldn’t accidentally get hit. Ever since then whenever my parents fought out loud I’ve always been scared for her. How she felt, how would this effect her? I don’t even know if it does affect her, she always looks so neutral, maybe she’s used to it because she grew up in it. Either way I’m scared for her. I’m scared for my parents. I’m scared that they’re really going to break it off, that I’ll have to be moved around every couple days on a schedule between houses to be with them. I’m scared that it might get physical again. They’re divorced but they’re still living together, there’s nothing to stop that. If that happens could me and my sister not be able to see our dad again? Would the court think he’s not fit to be around us. I love my dad. I’m scared, so scared.

so well when I was a kid I had a dad and he will always hurt my mom I never like her seen in pain by my dad.. I tried to help her but she push me away and didn't do anything until one day she decind to go the boxing and I was proud of her but then that when she change she became rude like my dad and I was scared and when I started to grow up even more things got different my sister who's was born was 2015 she was a rude to me a lot and nice but she always used to lie to my mom and dad that I did something it hurt me too much and I was getting pare with my older sister that she was pretty sweet nice kind .always got A's on her test/grades I wanted to be like her but I just let everyone down I am a stupid daugther who does nothing right I always get called annyoin rude a bitch and whore and miskat why do I have to be like this so I did the worst thing but before I will you guys I used to scrach my neck and made it into a cross it stranded for me something that I did bad anwyas back to the aprate soo well what I did bad was sh (self harm) I did it all over my body I didn't know what do to then my mom found out and too me to theryp... and they wanted me to get send to a mh (mentle hospiled ).....

I am a 7th grader that is a girl and my family is not a good one my sibling can't really do anything without getting yelled at from my mom she hates when something goes good for me she is the judgist mom ever she made me cry jst from body shaming me and saying I was a slut for getting my first boyfriend when I was like 10 so she is not a good person at all she had me at 19 my sister at 17 and my brother at 25 and my baby sister at 31 she is 32 now and for some reason she wants to destroy her life and our life also. I don't have that many friends since most of them moved away from me and some people don't really like my personality ig since they call me immature and ignoring so yeah so I don't really have ppl to talk to since I only have like 3 close friends that don't like me that much my sister shes 15 and sometimes I talk to her abt stuff but she also doesn't like me that much and mostly yells at me and I have more siblings but one lives in Florida and the other two live wit my dad i don't really see my dad a lot but anyway lets just get into the story.So at my school we have halloween festivals every year and this year i wanted to match with my friend that goes to a diff school and the festival is on the friday b4 halloween and my mom she says she will take me somewhere but never does so she said she was gonna take me to get my costume but she didn't and like 2 days b4 the festival she said she was gonna grab the stuff for my costume (my costume was gonna be a cat) and i said ok and she normally looks pissed off so i didn't mind her it was 2 days after and she still haven't came back so i asked my stepdad and he didn't know where she was to and his car was messes up so we had to take his friends car and i had to leave quick but my sister could stay or wtv and i was kinda mad she had to stay but my step dad drove me home and said i had to watch my baby sister like why did i have to do it i hate that even when my mom was there i always still had to watch the baby and do chores everyday and not get paid or anything so i can't complain or I get grounded but a few days later and I have to stay wit my grandma I call her nana not nanna no that's sound disgusting to me idk why but anyway I had to stay at her house and i come to find out she spent 2,000 of my stepdads money without him knowing and idk who cheated on who but I'm pretty sure it was my mom but she is saying it was him when he was wit me and my siblings the whole time but so now I'm bouncing to my stepdads house to my nanas and it's December 21 2024 so I go to my real dads house !! and my favs cousin is there but my dad's other family is very problematic so me my sister's and my cousin are sleeping and we hear some yelling and we wake up it's 5 am in the morning we look out the door it's my drunk stepmom attacking my aunt so my sister calls my nana and we get picked up my my grampa.its not gonna be a good year if that's the start of it ig.but he gets us some donuts or wtv and I hated how my sister treated me like a baby when we was at my dad's house like I ain't no fucking baby like I can handle myslef I don't need you to protect me like they ain't gonna do shjt to me but wtv anyway we go home and right to sleep btw we moved to our grandparents house so if we say home we gonna call house one my grandparents house and house two my stepdads house and we STILL havent heard from my mom.fast forward like two months it's march now!! So I fully moved in wit my grandparents and I moved schools so yh but tonight my mom came over when I don't want her here and also she came over before and I kinda had a mental breakdown and my mom was screaming at me when I was having it and I was telling her I do not want to talk to her but anyway lets talk abt tonight so she fanr over and I was in my room and she was calling me or wtv and I did not want to talk to her I don't even want her in my life bc if u wanna be my mom I alr gave u many chances and she failed me on all of them so I'm not gonna let you be my mom anymore IDC if you want me to talk too you I'm not letting it happen but anyway she came in my room and I was watchig yt and she said I was calling you and I said ik I said what multiple times and she said I don't give a damn if I call you that means come here and I said I don't wanna talk to her and she went all in my face and cussdd me out when she was in the wrong and the thing is I said it in a very polite tone is crazy but she got out my room and I closed my door or wtvand I was waiting for her to leave but im srry it's a long vent I have more but not rn so bye yall

You don’t really know it’s toxic when you’re a kid. It’s just your normal. You think everyone’s house is like this, that every kid walks on eggshells, trying not to set someone off. That it’s normal to feel your stomach drop when you hear a car pull in the driveway. That it’s just how things are when conversations go from 0 to screaming in seconds. But then you grow up, and you start seeing things differently. You hear your friends talk about their parents, the way they support them, how they actually listen when they have a problem, and it hits you—your childhood was not normal. It was not okay. And suddenly, everything you tried to ignorre, to downplay, to make excuses for, comes rushing back.

One of the biggest signs you grew up in a toxic family? You don’t know how to take a compliment. When someone says something nice about you, your first instinct is to brush it off, to laugh awkwardly, to assume they’re just being polite. Because you spent years being told you weren’t enough. Not smart enough, not good enough, not anything enough. And now, even when you know better, it’s like your brain refuses to accept that maybe, just maybe, you’re actually worth something. Instead, you’re always waiting for the but. The insult that follows the rare compliment. "You did well on that test, but don’t get cocky." "You look nice today, but too bad you don’t dress like that all the time." So when someone is genuinely kind to you, you feel uncomfortable. Like it’s a trick. Like love and approval are things you have to earn, not just something you get for existing.

Another sign? You apologize. Constantly. For everything. Even thiings that aren’t your fault. You say sorry when someone bumps into you. You say sorry when you ask a question, when you talk too much, when you take up space. Because growing up, you learned that the smallest mistake could set someone off, that your feelings weren’t valid unless they were convenient for everyone else. So you learned to shrink yourself. To be small. To be invisible. And now, even when no one is mad at you, you still feel like you’re in trouble. Like at any moment, someone’s going to yell, to criticize, to make you feel like a burden. And the worst part? Half the time, you don’t even realize you’re doing it. It’s just who you are now.

And then there’s trust. Or, well, lack of it. Because when the people who were supposed to protect you, love you, make you feel safe, were the same ones who hurt you, lied to you, manipulated you… how are you supposed to just trust anyone? How are you supposed to believe people mean what they say, that they won’t turn on you the second you let your guard down? You don’t. Instead, you assume everyone has a hidden agenda. That every act of kindness has a cost. That no one stays, not really. And so, you keep your distance. You let people in just enough to not be alone, but never enough that they could actually hurt you. And maybe one day, you’ll learn how to unlearn all of this. How to stop waiting for the worst to happen. How to believe that love doesn’t have to be painful. But right now? Right now, you’re just trying to get through the day without feeling like you’re still stuck in a house you left years ago. 😓

I’m 13, female and I went on a website looking for someone to talk to so I could vent about my issues with my family. My family, while I love them, has flaws. My parents, even though they’re divorced, still live together in my Mom’s apartment with me and my sister. It had been a rough divorce and I’m not sure if I’m fully over it but I still have lasting things going on. My mom and dad mutter bad things about each other, mostly my dad though. Living in an apartment it’s easy to hear through the paper thin walls and his loud voice doesn’t help. I don’t know if my little sister notices or not but I hope she doesn’t. Anyway, I went on a website that was 18+ where you could talk to strangers anonymously. As expected there were a lot of weird people on there but I skipped past them and found a few good ones. I matched up with this one German guy. I live in New Jersey, USA so we’re nowhere near each other. I found it cool I could talk with someone across the world and we talked about the different countries and our lives. He told me he was 22 and I said I was 19 since the age was 18+. I probably shouldn’t have ever gone on in the first place but I was desperate for someone to listen to me. So we talked and talked. He was really nice and sweet and he listened to me and gave feedback. I told him my insecurities and he said that I was perfect the way I was and not to worry about it and let it drag me down, despite not even seeing a picture of me or anything! I felt so seen and heard. We both had cats. I had one and he had too so we talked about that and made jokes. He was funny and made me smile. So, when I started picking up on him flirting with me I was flattered but dread started to pile up. I liked the flirting, I never felt so nice like I had nothing to change or worry about. Not to mention I’m fairly socially awkward and not on the popular side in my school so while everyone started to date and experiment I lagged behind. Maybe a bit ridiculous I know but I always wanted something like true love. Or even just someone to cherish me like the guys in the books and shows.. and he gave me that. I told him I was part French but only by blood and I didn’t really know French but we still joked about it. I’m in French class so I knew a few French words and sentences so I showed him just as fun, things like how to order from a restaurant and whatnot. He said he had a thing for French girls and I couldn’t help but feel happy and the flutter in my stomach I never really felt before. The time difference was major and he had to go to sleep soon as it was very late at night, or rather early in the morning for him. I never flirted back but I did pick up on all of his. How he wished me goodnight in French, he called me hun, said specific things about comments I made that I knew he did intentionally. That problem is, I’m 13, not 19. It’s wrong and nothing will ever come of it but he doesn’t know that. I’m cat fishing him and I didn’t even mean to! I’m not sure what to do. I’ve been a genuine connection like that for so long and I feel so good around him, he said I make him smile by talking with him. But he doesn’t know I’m 13. I don’t want to let go of what we have, I’m afraid I’ll never find something like that again. I know it can never happen though. And even if I could manage to just stay on a friendly level I’m sure the feelings wouldn’t go away and it wouldn’t change the fact that I have to keep pretending to be 19. He’d find out eventually or at least get suspicious right? I couldn’t tell him, he’d be furious of course and I don’t want to lose the friendship and connection I have. I don’t know what to do now.