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Grace Drigo's avatar

One of the hardest things to do is to forgive our parents. So many conflicting feelings are tied into the trauma which makes it so very complicated. It’s a work in progress for me; some days I feel so much compassion for them while other days my anger and sadness resurface. And that is ok. I then work my way through the emotions and then let them go.

This letter to your mom is profound, so heartfelt. It motivates me to also write one to my mother, one that she will never read of course, in the hopes that it will bring some peace. Sending love to your inner child today. 💛

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Scapegoat Healing Rebecca LMFT's avatar

Thank you for sharing this with me, Elizabeth. What a beautiful, open-hearted expression of love that I suspect was hard-earned and hard-won. Forgiveness and various feelings around it come up often with clients in my practice who have experienced familial abuse (including scapegoating abuse). An alternative (trauma-informed) concept is 'radical acceptance', which I write about here, for anyone interested: https://familyscapegoathealing.substack.com/p/radical-acceptance-and-its-role-in

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