For many survivors of sibling abuse, they can receive so much judgement and advice. Because the beginning brain was traumatized by a trusted sibling(s), the victim can stay at developmental stages. I am person that wants to come out and say that it happened to me. I stayed at a young age of 10 for most of my life. My behavior patterns were often impulsive and immature. The devastation of sibling abuse is that it keeps the victim regressed. Many have misdiagnosed PTSD. My ascent into adulthood was difficult and equivalent to trekking up Mt. Everest. I wasn’t prepared for adulthood. Many of us aren’t. Many survivors of sibling abuse lead lives of chaos and economic instability. Adulthood is hard. We can be rejected by our families and our own children. For many of us, our children were our first link to trust. The resilience of a survivor takes so much inner resolve and determination. And yet many survivors are abandoned by those that they love the most. Many give up and don’t make it. They are amongst the homeless. Some become suicide statistics. The journey into adulthood is a hard one for many who have been victims of sibling abuse. Victims of this type of abuse judge themselves for not fitting into our culture. Their brains were altered early on and they lost crucial developmental stages.
As a survivor of sibling abuse, I can’t tell you what emotional age I am. Some people have told me it is a gift that I am regressed. All I know is this: adulthood has been a shock. I have not been prepared for it. The pathways of my brain have not gone through an additive process like some people. Tonight I don’t want to use the word normal.suicide, depression
Boy can I relate to this! I am 12. Have been for decades. Though my abuse started when I was eight, it was at it’s worst at age 12. Nice to know I’m not alone.