My fourteen-year-old was sexually assaulted and now flinches when I try to hug her and I do not know how to love someone who cannot bear to be touched.
More people experience this than they realize.
Trauma can make the most basic expressions of parental love feel like additional violations to a wounded child.
“Where Are You with Parenting a child with mental health challenges?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.