To say that anyone understands domestic abuse is a lie unless they’ve been through it. You can empathize as much as you want, but it’s not something you can understand unless you’ve seen it often or felt it or been through it. You may think you understand but to the victim, they will have a difficult time believing you. Trust isn’t available for advice on domestic abuse. It changes a person. It makes them think differently, feel differently, and act differently. There are other things that people go through, yes, but nothing like the feeling of no escape from your own family. My mom and I blame ourselves for everything. My dad hit me yesterday, and all I keep thinking is that it wasn’t anything. He’s a good person. I solve everything the way I think. I think like anyone who has undergone abuse. I forgive everything, blame myself, have difficulty coping,high anxiety, I have this need to fix everything. It’s a cycle. I want to prevent the problem. I’ve lived with it for 18 years. I don’t know anything different. Relationships freak me out. I can’t stand losing people. I’m so horribly heart broken by it, it’s not easy to move on. I don’t see the world as it really is. I see it like I see my dad.