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I am not a teen, but a 45 year old woman.

Having grown up in middle class Portland, I left home at 15 and thus entered a 30 year walk down the path of abuse of all sorts--teen dating abuse is only the beginning of a potentially devastating walk on the dark side of existence.

For me, walk started with the need to love and feel loved, and with having an unrealistic view of what others can provide in making one feel 'whole.' Along the way, one might engage in all kinds of behaviors (or tolerances) in order to achieve this goal. Drugs, alcohol, unsafe sex, toxic enviornments and people are probably part of the intensly scienic tour we've begun in our innocence (the teen years).

Ultimately, we must face our pain and ourselves and accept the rewards of the difficult journey we have been on. Of course, I know that the story is not the same for all; but certainly this potential is there when one begins with (or is predispositioned to) teen dating abuse.

There is an awful lot to say about this subject-it's huge. I am not sure that starting the story in the teen years is really where it begins, and most likely it won't end there either.

There is always hope though (at whatever age or stage [or type] of abuse), and if I didn't have to go to work I would stick around to interact. I'll be listening though, along my way.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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