Hey there @Former-Member @CheerBear @Lemonjuice @BlueBay, these words to me sting a little... you were just a kid... oh boy! I was a child thrust into an adult world when I was abused. A time when young minds are still developing and learning things like trust and acceptance and love. I think I grew up a little warped because of my experiences. I learned quickly that all love is conditional and trust and acceptance were useless.
Yes I was just a kid. I shouldn't have been treated the way I was, but however, treated that way I was indeed and somehow being told I was "just" a kid is one of the most invalidating things someone can say. For me it goes along with "take a spoonful of cement and hard the f up"... so condescending.
I find it even harder these days because at the time of the abuse, the words "you are just a kid" came from rare supporters and givers of comfort. Nowdays these same people have sided with my abusers and use those words in the most vile ways possible, I guess, in some ways continuing the abuse. I feel for all of you to know these words and how painful they are.
