by Alice Kenny | Jan 13, 2021 | Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Family Estrangement, Guest Contributor
Once when I was in my early twenties, I confronted my mother. I matter-of-factly said, “You know, Mom, you beat me. You beat me a lot.” She replied, “I don’t remember that.” “Well, you did,” I pressed. “Maybe I slapped you once or twice.” So, that was her concession....
by Alice Kenny | Dec 4, 2020 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Eating Disorders and CPTSD, Guest Contributor, The Brain and CPTSD
(The article below is an excerpt from my book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) Research shows that many children who experience adversity are amazingly...
by Alice Kenny | Nov 27, 2020 | ACEs, CPTSD Survivor Stories, Eating Disorders and CPTSD, Guest Contributor
Most kids of parents with a mental illness experience childhood differently and less innocently than other children as they deal with their often chaotic home lives and navigate their worlds. If you are the son or daughter of a parent with a mental illness, and you...
by Alice Kenny | Oct 16, 2020 | ACEs, Complex PTSD Healing, Guest Contributor, The Brain and CPTSD
I missed out on hugs and cuddles. My mother, who was mentally ill, did not display affection. In second grade, I walked home from school with a friend. I remember watching as she ran up her front steps. Her mother would be waiting for her at the door with a smile....
by Alice Kenny | Oct 14, 2020 | ACEs, Guest Contributor
(The article below is based on an excerpt from my book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) My mother, who was mentally ill, never hugged me, never caressed me,...