I have a scar on the back of my head. Unfortunately it's an ever present reminder of almost 2 decades of emotional and physical abuse. I was 7 or 8 and playing in my room with my brother. We were just playing with cars, nothing crazy, when out of nowhere the room door opens violently, my mothers holding the belt she would hit us with and screaming violently. I don't recall being able to make sense of anything she was saying until the very end when she looked me dead in the eyes, screamed "I hate you" and threw the belt right at me. I had no idea it hit me. It wasn't until my brother started yelling that there was blood and I touched it that I realized I was hurt. She came back yelling, I can only assume she thought my brother was lying and it wasn't until she came back into the room to see blood running down my head that she stopped. A complete 180. From uncontrollable anger and yelling to completely hysterical and crying. The part that scares me is that I remember the next part vividly. I was sitting on the kitchen counter facing the stove on the other side, she was frantically trying to find something to stop the bleeding and apologizing the whole time. I didn't understand. If she was sorry, why did she do it? Why would she hurt me? Looking back on it, I know exactly why she was so sorry. I remember the look on her face when she eventually faced me. It wasn't regret or remorse. It was fear. The fear that someone would find out what had happened. That's why she didn't even take me to a hospital. Luckily this is the only physical reminder, but unfortunately, as far as I remember, this is where everything starts.
My brother dealt with our home life by acting out and got himself into a lot of trouble. He would get disciplined for it (belt, spoon, hand...etc.) and it acted as a deterrent to me getting involved in the trouble he was causing. But, I wanted to be like my older brother and one day I had a lapse of judgement. My brother found a lighter and was looking to burn something with it. I stupidly tagged along and next thing I know Im in a maintenance hallway of a plaza and my brother is lighting something on fire. The fire department shows up and, lucky for us, theres a witness who says they saw two kids leave the hallway. I was a very introverted and shy kid, so I say nothing during our mothers angry interrogation into what happened. My brother takes this as an opportunity to shift the blame and tells her I was the one who did it. I would be taking the discipline this time. All I remember is being taken to her bedroom, being thrown on the bed and then she was choking me with a belt while telling me she just wanted me dead. I was 10. Ive slept on my side for as long as I can remember because any time I fall asleep on my back I have a nightmare where this memory plays out and I wake up short of breath.
Theres more in between and a lot more after, but those are the two physical ones and the ones that affected me the most. I dont trust anyone and was only compounded by going through a few relationships where I was cheated on. I also suffer from overwhelming guilt and regret even from the simplest decisions and, even though were engaged, I feel both after being intimate with my wife. Some days I wish she would just leave me because of how crushing it can feel.
I know I should talk to someone, get it all out and get some help. But that requires trust and trust is an issue.