The majority of the time I say to other people (and to myself) that my father’s emails and voicemails don’t bother me. In a lot of ways, they have just become the norm and I am sort of used to them. Every once in a while, though, one stands out that is particularly hurtful. I feel like my mom, sister and I just give him free passes because we know he is drunk. Today he sent and email copied to all of us where he singled me out and called me a “loser” and he also left me a voicemail calling me a “scumbag”. I obviously know these things aren’t true- I am a totally respectable member of society, a teacher, a homeowner, etc. but it still is mind-boggling to me that my own father can say these things about his daughter totally unprovoked. My sister and I have always used humor to deal with my dad and the way he treats us. She recently began seeing a therapist (I have gone for years, so I am super proud of her for starting to go!) and the woman said to my sister, “you talk about the things your father has done like it was only in your childhood, like he is deceased…this is still active abuse.” That really made me think. I do consider what my father did to us growing up as abuse, no doubt about it, but I guess since I don’t live with him and rarely see him in person, I didn’t really consider it to be current as well. But it totally is. His emails and voicemails are verbally and emotionally abusive and total harassment as well. People always ask my sister and me why we don’t just block his number and his emails (I have a totally separate email address just for him so they don’t go into my regular email inbox) and neither of us have a good answer for that question. I don’t know why I don’t just block him…I should. He deserves it. I honestly don’t even know if he would notice, because no one ever responds to his emails. It is like the same way I can’t answer why my mom never left him…I kind of write it off as her being a “battered wife” and I guess in a lot of ways I am a “battered daughter”.
Anxious ACOA 