I am 17 and have just cleared high school. Before high school, I had achieved good grades. In high school, I slacked a bit and didn’t dazzle anyone with my grades. The reason I gave everyone was that high school marks didn’t matter in the career I was interested in, only the entrance test results did. I admit I wasn’t working as hard as I could.
Now I am getting great results in my mock tests for my college entrance. Outsiders respect me. My parents don’t. They call me "a waste of space" and a slacker. They have been telling me that I am useless even when I got good grades. My mom even bet me that I would fail in my exams, which I cleared with a 9.4 GPA out of 10. I admit that my recent marks have been shit but then, they don’t matter for my college. I have no respect at home.
Tonight, I came home after studying. My mom, as usual, said that I was good for nothing. I shouted back at her that I was placed in the top 100 nationwide in my mocks. She then called me shit and hit me. Something broke inside me. I retaliated. I hit her on her leg. Not really hard. I immediately apologized but she said that she would tell my dad and get me thrown out.
Now if that happens, I have no career to look forward to. I have friends but for some reason I don’t want to confide to them. I have been beaten in my past regularly, both by my father and mother. I envy my friends, who have rational parents. I just want to live like a normal person. I also have a history of running away from home twice, both when I was 12. My marks bad first taken a dip (temporarily) that year. I live in India where social services are non existent. Grades define a person’s worth here. So, maybe my parents aren’t wrong. But I don’t feel bad about the beatings, more so about the fact that they call me useless even when I got good grades. I just want to kill myself. My parents are fine in real life, so the problem must lie with me.
I feel like an asshole. My dad is a very successful executive and my moving out would cause a big scandal. Also, I have no money and nowhere to go. I fear the fault lies with me. Bow can I make my parents proud of me? How will I ever matter?
@Jesus
I don’t know. I just can’t go away. My dad is very nice, except for his rages. I feel like a psychopath. I don’t want to be a nobody. My parents are fine with supporting me as long as I adhere to their taunts and insults. I honestly don’t know what they want. How can I get my approval. As of now, I am camping outside my mum’s room as a penance (I feel bad).
@Jesus
I don’t know. I just can’t go away. My dad is very nice, except for his rages. I feel like a psychopath. I don’t want to be a nobody. My parents are fine with supporting me as long as I adhere to their taunts and insults. I honestly don’t know what they want. How can I get my approval. As of now, I am camping outside my mum’s room as a penance (I feel bad).
@ok
Thank you. I appreciate your effort. Yes, I have known about reverse psychology. But it can’t be that extreme, can it? My relationship with my parents is loving most of the times but there are periods when I am insulted to the core. I feel worthless.
@Tony
Thanks. I can get a teacher to talk about me and I am sure it will be positive. But will it help?
@ok
Thank you. I appreciate your effort. Yes, I have known about reverse psychology. But it can’t be that extreme, can it? My relationship with my parents is loving most of the times but there are periods when I am insulted to the core. I feel worthless.
@Tony
Thanks. I can get a teacher to talk about me and I am sure it will be positive. But will it help?
My mother also told me that I was a worthless child and she should have had me killed before I was born. My parents also listen to all my wishes, as long as they have total control over my life
My mother also told me that I was a worthless child and she should have had me killed before I was born. My parents also listen to all my wishes, as long as they have total control over my life
Move out?
It’s not you. Do not kill yourself, please. You have great grades, if they call you useless, then they don’t know what they’re talking about. They should feel guilty for saying that to their daughter. I am only twelve but I can assure you that you aren’t useless and don’t need to think about killing yourself. Look at yourself right now. You have verrrrry great spelling and grammar. You don’t find that in every person. The problem lies within them. If you leave they will realize what happened. They will feel bad. They should at least. But some parents are different, I am not encouraging you to leave; I am giving you options and predicting what will happen. I hope you have the best of luck with your choices, and please don’t kill yourself
God Bless
-Jesus
MOVE OUT. just pack your things and go. find a job, make your own living. Your parents sound like absolute assholes, especially your mom. dont feel bad about hitting her, it sounds like she deserved it. Stand up for yourself. Your almost an adult. Therefore your life will get SO MUCH BETTER. find a way out. once you have a job, and a place to stay, then you can worry about college.
Oh and one last thing. Confide in your friends. They CAN help.
Do you know the concept of
reverse psychology?
Apparently your parents think that abuse is the way to motivate you , and to threaten you and beat you and put you down , they think are motivators.
They are not .
they are misguided in their cruelness,and it sounds like you may be on your own soon, but that could be a good thing, as long as you don’[t let all those abusive messages they gave you , take over in your head.
Those are not who you are. You have proven that you can do anything you put your mind to, and your responses have been extraordinarily patient and self controling during all the abuse.
Anyone might hit a bully back , it is a natural response.
Sometimes bullies don’t respond to anything else.
You should keep your brain connected and keep thinking and taking care of yourself, regardless of what they do.
It may be time for you to speak your mind about the abuse and let them know you will not tolerate it anymore.
IDK.
Sometimes that will stop it, sometimes itwont.
If they both think that is a normal or good way to ‘teach’ , then they have learned that from being abused themselves.
No religion would support parents abusing their children, and some even say that to bring a child to anger is a sin.
they are bullies. whether they realize it or care or not.
This is not your problem, it is theirs. There is nothing wrong except that you now believe the horrible words and definitions directed at you. You probably don’[t want to talk to yoru friends, because you have learned to believe this is about you , your problem, and you have not learned how to deal appropriately and lovingly with your feelings. You will become an abuser like your parents the way you are thinking.
You could consider al;l your options, and decide what to do. If you cower to them, and stay and take more abuse , because you lack options, then I hope the part of you that knows this is not normal, or healthy or loving stays alive and plans on how to create a good healthy life for yourself. Or see if you can stay with friends. or something.
You have been programmed to think you are worthless unless someone is abusing you . That is a lie.
You may not be able to motivate yourself unless osmeone is abusing you now, you will have to be very careful about who you choos as a mate, not to repeat this senerio in your life and your childrens life.
If you can talk it out wit hthem , rationally, then maybe they will see your point and change. It doesn’[t sound like it. they think you are doing well because of these behaviors, not in spite of them.
Look up the ’stockholm syndrome’ and traumatic bonding. Look up what happens to abused children, often when they over achieve, they either decide to become what they did not have growing up and never pass down the abuse, or they become an abuser and pass it down.
2/3 s of abused children, do NOT go on to abuse, they know the difference and would not do that, but 1/3 do go on to abuse.
I hope you make the difficult choices to love and take care of yourself and your future children, and perhaps your parents willl realize their mistakes and come around to making changes.
Here is a free self help healing method, eftuniverse.com click on ‘get started free’, and it would help if you bring as many healthy supportive people into your life as possible.
If you believe your parents are right to abuse you, or that the fault lies with you , then you are believing the abuseive lies they are putting on you . You are defining yourself by their abusive views of you.
that will keep you in their control and will keep you from ever escaping their control, and that is what they want.
If you feel bad about yoruself, and push yourself incessantly to ’succeed’, then they can control you thast way, the way they have.
Your parents are NOT ‘fine’ in real life. Far from it. They probably put on a different face in ‘real life’.
So, the problems are not yours.
With these type parents, you will NEVER be enough for them. You will NEVER make them proud, and you will matter only in how you succeed for them and by their standards.
I think you can succeed and be happy, but you are going to have to remove the controling abusive messages that are in your head by them defining you, now, and replace them with loving accepting and building messages of self love and acceptance.
I hope you do that. best wishes. find a spiritual source of support as well.
EDIT: I did not mention the underlying female hatred and abuse in some places, if that is part of this, then you will need to take special care ofyourself and mind and thoughts and find support anywhere you can get it, to grow and stay sane. I believe you were born valuable, and unique and you have a life purpose that is a good, happy and healthy one. I wish you well in creating it and living it.
It’s not you,
What your mother says is not true,
Just remember this is not going to last forever, just hang in there until you can get your job,
Can you get one of your teachers to say something good about you to your parents?
HEY, U R TRUE THAT ONLY GRADE MATTERS HERE, AND NOTHING ELES.
I WONT LIE BUT I WAS IN SAME SITUATION WHEN I WAS 12 ,
PEOPLE USE TO CAL ME ABNORMAL AND I WAS SO ASHAMED.
BUT MY MOM WAS NOT LIKE OTHERS, SHE TOLD ME THAT THE ONLY WAY OUT IS ‘POLITE IGNORANCE TILL U ACHIVE’
I DID SAME, I WORKED REALY HARD AND COMPLETELY CONVERTED MY PERSONALITY…
I STARTED GETTING REALY NICE GRADES (90+ %age) AND U WONT BELIVE, EVERY THING WENT RIGHT…
NOW, I AM 18 , AND I BECAME REALLY VERY IMPORTANT IN MY FAMILY…NOW IN EVERY FAMILY DECESION , MY CONSULTANCE IS APPRETIATED…
SO ALL U NEED IS TO IGNORE POLITELY TO THOSE WHO DISCOURAGES U…
IF NEXT TIME UR MOM SAYS U A USELES THEN JUST SMILE AND IGNORE…NO NEED TO GET IN MESS
MOREOVER, U WONT BE THROWN OUT UR HOUSE, JUST ASK FOR ANOTHER CHANCE…AND UTILISE IT…
TRY TO BE FRIENDLY WITH UR PARENTS…FIND A SOFT CORNER IN THERE HEART…AND DONT GIVE UP
Your parents have some kind of a problem, both of them. There are frustrations in their lives, and instead of facing them directly, they are taking them out on you.
Perhaps your father is not being treated well at work. Perhaps your mother treats him badly. Perhaps he treats her badly. It’s clear that they are frustrated and angry about things, but rather than dealing with the real roots of their problems they take it out on you.
You wrote “Grades define a person’s worth here.” and yet look at the marks you got on your mocks. If you believe a person should be defined by things like that ( which I don’t think they should be ) then they, and you, have every reason to see yourself as worthy. Yet look at how you feel now ?
But if you did get 10 on everything, then I believe they would still find something wrong with you. Or if they were happy, it would be because they could show you off as a trophy to their friends, rather than loving you in the ways you want them too.
They are the ones who should be ashamed, and not you.
You said they are not like this in real life, but how we behave when others can’t see us is the very realist part of real life.
The ones who should be penitent is them, not you.
.