You're not alone, it gets better, Anonymous (16)

I started having problems with my dad when I started to speak up to voice my opinions. My dad's a really headstrong person and always wants it his way. It’s really draining being around him especially when he drinks. It gets so out of hand and he yells at me a lot and calls me a lot of rude names. I tried to brush it off because I come off as a strong person and I don’t let other people’s words affect me. But when it comes to my dad I just fall apart I can’t keep it together. a couple of years ago he smashed my phone into a table because he was so angry about something and took it out on me. It’s just so toxic dealing with the verbal abuse and I hate feeling this way. One day when he was yelling at me for two hours straight and I was crying this entire time, I decided to cut myself on my arm. this was also a time when I was just truly so depressed because of the things happening with my dad and also friend problems and school stuff. It was just all piling on and I just felt so so alone. I just couldn’t take it anymore it was so painful and I just needed to release that pain. I didn’t tell any of my friends because I just didn’t want them to see me differently or anything. My parents are divorced so when my mom noticed she forced me to see a therapist even when I didn’t want to. Talking to a therapist really helped me talk about my emotions and my pain and now I feel happier I guess because my dad and I are in family therapy now. I finally feel like he’s understanding what pain he’s put me through and I think he’s working on it. If anyone is going through something similar, talk to someone it really truly helps and I feel like my mental health is getting back on track. You are not alone.