Step-Dad treats my family like ********

[JMP]

Hey,

So my I've known my step dad since I could remember because my real dad left when I was born because he and my mom were only 17. This man used to be a good father to me, my mother, and brother, but only for a short time. Over a couple years around age 5-6, he was alright but definitely wasn't perfect, but I still respected him and at the time loved him. However recently, especially since 8th/9th grade things have gotten MUCH worse. I should mention I am 17 and a senior in high school, also an all AP/honor class student, I've even strived to make it to Calc 3. But it's been very hard with my step-dad. He has caused me little physical pain, he is almost always verbally abusive and has caused me far to much stress and it's absolutely having an effect on my mental health.

As of today, living in my home is me, my mom, and two younger brothers. My step-dad yells at us almost daily and makes me feel like absolute ********, I'm sure my family feels the same. However, I'm very depressed, and angered lately and this has caused me to become academically lazy in school. I constantly have thoughts, especially when he my step-dad goes on his yelling sprees, of suicide, running away, or even thoughts of severely hurting or killing him, I've never felt worse in my life and I can't imagine life going on, and there's no way I can live in this house another moment!

My step-dad constantly hides from us in our garage and doesn't do a thing besides going to work to support our family, he then tells us how we're all lazy pieces of ******** and how we don't ever do anything. I know exactly what he's doing in the garage, and I even have photos to prove it, as I've thought of showing my mom, although I'm uncertain he has a card for this, he has excessive amounts of marijuana that he smokes everyday and hides from us most of the evening. He also has started drinking too, also in the garage.

My group of friends all know everything I have mentioned above, and I've thought about talking to my counselor at school about this, but I'm just too afraid to, as of possible results. I've tried talking to my mom a year ago about this exact situation and nothing happened, and it's only gotten worse, one of my friends, including his family, knows all about my situation and has told me many times I'm always welcome to come there anytime to get away from my step-dad.

I need serious help, this is affecting my life tremendously, I can't even put into words how bad it is, even though most of the abuse is verbal, I'm going INSANE in this house, and I'm ready to have a meltdown, I CANT handle it, I'm only a senior in high school and already want my life to end. I really need help, and before I do anything rash or major, I need help from you guys, please, I just want this all to end...

[ccsmod0]

RE: Step-Dad treats my family like ********

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. We are here to provide you support and assist you in the best way possible during this time.

We are so sorry to hear that you are going through such a difficult time at home. You do not deserve to be emotionally or verbally abused. One thing that you may consider is reporting the emotional and verbal abuse that you are sustaining at home. If you are comfortable with reporting what is happening to you, there are a couple of things that you can do. One option available to you is to contact Child Help USA (1-800-422-4453). Child Help USA is a wonderful that can provide you with more information about filling a report and help you get into contact with your states Child Protective Services (CPS). Another option available is to contact us here at the National Runaway Safeline and we provide you support and assist with reporting the abuse.
It sounds like you have a really great support system at school with your friends and that you really care about your grades. We are happy to hear that you are attending AP classes. That is a great thing. You mentioned that you were having a lot of different thoughts including suicidal thoughts and want your life to end. One resource that would be great to talk to is the National Suicide Hotline (1-800-273-TALK). This hotline can talk to you about of number of different things that you mentioned including depression, suicide, school problems and lots of others. We highly encourage you to reach out to them or us during your time of need. We are here to offer you support and be there for you.

You are so strong for reaching out to us and seeking help. In your post you talked about running away. Since you are thinking about running away, here are a few questions to consider:
• Do I have a place to stay?
• What about school? Would I continue to get an education?
• Am I going to be gone awhile or coming back in a few days?
• What would I do for money? Shelter? Food? Transportation?
• Who can I depend on if I leave home?
• Do I have a safe, solid plan?
• What is my plan b in case my first plan doesn’t work?

We also want you to know that we are not legal experts here but we can provide you with some general information. If you are still considered a minor in your state, and you do run away, your parents have a legal right to file a runaway report. Running away is not a crime but it is a status offense and if you are picked up by the police for whatever reason there is a chance that you can possibly be returned home, unless the police feel that they will be returning you to an unsafe environment.

We are sorry to hear that you are going through a tough time right now at home. You do not deserve to be verbally abused at all. We want to make sure that you are safe. We are always available to talk here at NRS. By calling us we can talk with you about your situation and some of the options available to you as well as, possibly connect you to some resources that may be of value to you. We really want to help you and look forward to speaking with you. We are here 24/7 and can be reached via phone, chat, and email. We can be reached at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929).

Best,

NRS