Physical violence

Growing up in a home where physical violence between others was regular

Watching physical violence happen between people in your home, regularly. A parent hurting another parent. An adult hurting a sibling. Living in a house where violence was part of the atmosphere even when it was not directed at you.

Growing up inside someone else's violence marks you even when the blows never landed on you. Children in violent homes learn to track footsteps, gauge silences, and disappear on cue. If your childhood job was staying invisible while the house shook, you were a victim of that violence too, not a bystander to it.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

Hypervigilance The nervous system that learned to scan for danger all the time. Emotional numbing Not depression exactly. Insomnia Difficulty falling asleep. C-PTSD When trauma happened repeatedly, over a long time, or at the hands of people who were supposed to care for you, the effects go deeper than a single event. Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Startle response The nervous system calibrated to danger will flinch at sounds, movements, or surprises that others barely notice. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there. Conflict avoidance For many survivors conflict is not just uncomfortable.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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