Unless you are a close friend of mine that I've shared this information with, you wouldn't have known that I lived through a rather rough past. Now, it is not usually in my nature to share such personal information with just anyone, but for the sake of this blog I am willing to overlook it. I was an abused child; physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by my father; by my own flesh and blood; by the man who took part in bringing me into this world. Because of how heinous and graphic his actions were, I will spare you of the details, however, I can tell you these events occurred from the ages 5-7. When these events finally came to a stop, and both my mother and I finally escaped from his malevolent clutches, he left not only me, but also my mom beaten, scarred, and broken. For a long time, years after this occurred, I was still left broken and damaged. I felt as if I had no self worth, was left questioning the meaning of my existence, and wondering what I had done to deserve such mistreatment. It had left me in a state of recurring depression; no matter where I went, everything was dark, bleak, and empty, and I couldn't help but feel worthless and pathetic. As much as I tried to let go of the past, it was merely impossible. The mental image of getting beaten countlessly was implanted in a prominent part of my mind. Life was rough, but it was because I forced myself to never speak of the what happened; refrained from releasing my emotions.
After about three years, I found hope in the world in the form of therapy. When people think of therapy, they usually think of completely psychotic and mentally ill patients, however for my case, it was a very calm and relaxed environment. I went to a family therapist, where she helped me work through my feelings and emotions. It was there that I had first fully released my feelings, pouring out my deepest darkest thoughts, my feelings of depression. The crushing weight that I had been lugging around was finally released. But it wasn't just me letting out my feelings that helped my wounds heal. My therapist was the one who counseled me and helped me take the small steps to letting go of the past, and seeing the good in the world. She talked me through my feelings and took me through mental exercises and gave me advice. Therapy really helped me change my life around for the better. It had a very strong affect on the path I took in growing up. That's why I'm interested in the career of Family Therapy, because it helped me a lot through my hardships, and I would definitely want to be able to help other families through theirs.
