Geneva I hear ya (understand), I'm 46 years old and it wasn't until a few months ago that I realized that my mother has emotionally abused me my entire life. It's no wonder that I ran away to the military as soon as I could, not that it was any better in the military; thats where I was further traumatized. I think that moving to a safe place and having all this time to myself, to get to know who I am, my likes and dislikes has made me realize a lot of things. It hurts like hell and I've cried a lot but as time goes by I feel stronger than I was before. My realization or better yet, my acceptance of the fact that she is an abuser has on one hand hurt me deeply yet knowing that I was able to survive it all made me realize that I am much stronger than what I gave myself credit for. What I'm trying to say is although hurtful this has made my life make a lot of sense and now comes change...