I am currently 15, I moved in with my adopted mom when I was 12. She never has ever hit me before. But in the past year she has been yelling at me a lot. She’s yelling at me over the littlest of things, getting in my face, punching me, hitting me, kicking me, biting me, pulling out my hair, kicking me with steel toe boots, hitting me with a tasting paddle, (A long 1-inch thick piece of wood about 4-6 inches long with 3 holes) dragging me, sitting on top of me, punching me. I don’t know what to do. Is this normal? Yes, I am a smoker, and she hates it. Every time I get caught smoking she hits me in my back with the paddle. She has left welts, bruises, cuts, gashes, and I’ve even passed out before. She banged my head against our stainless-steel fridge. I feel un-worthy. I can’t deal with this anymore. Every little thing I get in trouble for. When I don’t do my homework, she whacks me in my leg with the paddle. She tells me, “make sure my house is clean”, but then when I do clean it, she yells at me. I am in pain and I do not know what to do any more.
Find Some Help
- Dealing with any kind of abuse is painful and scary. No one deserves to live in fear for their safety. Thank you for reaching out to us for help.
- If you are being harmed in the ways you stated above, you need to reach out to someone that you can trust and let them know what’s going on. Would you try talking to a counselor, teacher, pastor, therapist or even a law enforcement officer? Your safety is the most important thing here. Living in pain- physical and/or emotional isn’t fair to you and isn’t a way to have to live.
- If you’re not sure which way to turn first, you can also try texting the Crisis Hotline at
Crisis Textline
Available 24/7
Support to all individuals in crisisText “HOME” to 741741
www.crisistextline.org
Other Tools to Try
- Other options you may want to use while you’re reaching out for help
- Have you tried becoming involved in groups, activities that would keep you out of the house? It may help to meet some new people and allow less time for conflict to occur between you and your mom.
- Have you tried keeping a journal of your thoughts and feelings? This can be very helpful while you’re trying to sort out what to say and how to say it to others. It also helps to alleviate some anxiety by giving you an outlet.
- The sooner you reach out to another trusted adult, the sooner you can begin your journey toward a safe, healthy future. Having others there to support you will make a huge different while you work through this. Good luck and be safe.
