“The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”— Katherine Hepburn
your parents don’t have to starve you and beat you constantly to be physically abusive.
some parents manipulate their kids into starving themselves. “you need to diet. you look awful. you’re getting fat. you aren’t going to get a date looking like that.”
some parents scare their kids by threatening violence. “I’d beat you if you acted like that. You’re lucky I don’t come over there and slap you.”
some parents are physically abusive without hitting or punching. some parents pull hair and pinch and grab throats. some shove and push and spank.
though a lot of these behaviors are common, that doesn’t mean they’re normal and you are valid if these behaviors caused you fear. physical abuse is more than the movies show.
Same is true of romantic partners
You have to learn how to say no without you feeling like you’re being mean. Setting boundaries is how you see who does and doesn’t respect you, your time, or your emotional well-being. Anyone who sees your boundaries and thinks your being mean or tries to push that boundaries is not a person you owe your time or attention.
