One thing about growing up with secrecy, silence, and paranoia in an authoritarian family is that it gets really hard to untangle the effects of emotional abuse from one’s actual personality.
Until recently, for example, I rarely asked questions. Part of that is because because so many of my childhood and adolescent questions were answered with :
- contempt: “You stupid kid”
- ridicule: “I can’t believe you don’t know that”
- silent treatment: absolute silence as if I had not spoken
- dismissal: “You don’t need to know that”
- anger: “Don’t ask things like that!”
- annoyance “Don’t bother me with that”
- mockery: “Why do you care about that?”
- impatience: “I don’t have time for this.”
I learned that questions are irritating, intrusive, inappropriate, and unwelcome. I learned that I would be mocked, ridiculed, and subject to anger or silent treatments if I asked questions or showed curiosity. Continue reading
Barking Back 