TEEN QUESTION/PROBLEM:
My dad does anything to make me feel upset and sad. One time he told me I was disgusting and that night I had a dream my picture was in a magzine and it said Bob Johnson's (not my dads real name) daughter is ugly. I had had bad dreams for 2 weeks witch by the way was b4 my dad said i was disgusting. One time my dad was drinking my mom was on the phone and I said that he was drunk and he told me to go to my room and when i got to the stairs he slammed me on the stairs hard. When ever my dad hits me he will hit me on the head usually with his knukkles. One time when i was on vacation alone with him he came to the hotel drunk and i was very sad and talking with my momm he took all my electron ic's away turned off the lights and made me go 2 sleep b4 i was finished talking to my mom. Resently I have started cutting myself. But i promised my friend that i would stop.

TEEN LINE WROTE:
Hi, it seems like you are going through a lot of stuff right now the situation you are in seems very frustrating and upsetting. It does not sound like your dad is treating you well, or fairly and it's understandable that you are angry at him about it. It is not your fault, and nothing that you may have done could be an excuse for your dad's behavior. he has no right to belittle you like that and physically harm you. I'm really glad that you decided to contact us at TeenLine, and hope you can get some help on this issue. Have you talked with anyone about what's going on at home, about your dad? Maybe you could talk to people like friends, a trusted adult like a relative or a school counselor. I can understand that talking with others of your personal life may seem difficult at first; however talking with others might help you relieve your feelings and form a support group that can understand you and be there for you.

Have you considered that what your dad is doing to you is abuse? It is considered emotional abuse when an adult in charge constantly or frequently screams, threatens, belittles, and puts down the child. And you mentioned him of slamming you down the stairs, and hitting you on your head. I'm really worried about you and hope that you could be in a safe environment. There is a place called Childhelp USA, it is a National Child Abuse Hotline and it proffessionally deals with child abuse, crisis intervention, telephone counseling and refferrals. You can call this place at 800-422-4453 or check the website at www.childhelpusa.org.

It's really hard to tell much about what's happening that is causing your cutting, Possibly the situation with your dad? Still I'm really glad to hear that you promised your friend to stop cutting. If you would like to talk more about this we would be glad to help you out at TEEN LINE. Or for more specialized help to stop cutting you may want to try this place out. It's called Safe Alternatives it gives support for those who cut. You can call this place at 800-366-8288 or simply check the website at www.selfinjury.com

You talked about your dad calling you disgustin. It sounds awful to be called like that by your dad. It seems like you are hurt by it and the dreams could possibly be reflections of how it is affecting you. This may be another topic you could talk about with others, maybe your friends. Self-image, body-image is a common topic among us teenagers and talking with fellow peers might help you organize your thoughts, or just a place you could open up your feelings.

If you need a place to talk to feel free to call us at TEEN LINE (310-855-4673) We are open everynight from 6pm to 10pm PST. We would be happy to lend an ear anytime.

a TEEN LINE listener