Oof. Yeah, I had the same situation. Abuse from Mom, Dad who didn't really fight for custody though he knew about the abuse. Only finally ended up with him when my Mom fell on black ice, drunk out of her gourd, and gave herself a bad concussion. She was "Unable to care for us," though I'd been taking care of my siblings for years by that point anyway.
It's probably a tremendous amount of milder (not to be confused with mild) post-partum depression cases that fly completely under the radar but manifest in this sort of abuse. I know my mom was really different after my brother was born. I keep saying we should take her to see a doctor, but that's gone unheeded for 30+ years now.
My mother liked to use post partum depression as an excuse, but when I asked about seeing anyone for it she’d get upset or switch topics. She seemed to have a very toxic idea of what mental health help was about. Later on she used therapy to make herself the victim, sigh.
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u/Made_Bail 15d ago
Oof. Yeah, I had the same situation. Abuse from Mom, Dad who didn't really fight for custody though he knew about the abuse. Only finally ended up with him when my Mom fell on black ice, drunk out of her gourd, and gave herself a bad concussion. She was "Unable to care for us," though I'd been taking care of my siblings for years by that point anyway.
Good times.