95 Quotes by Pete Walker

Verbal abuse is the use of language to shame, scare or hurt another. Dysfunctional parents routinely use name-calling, sarcasm, and destructive criticism to overpower and control their children. Verbal abuse is as commonplace in the American family as homework and table manners. It is modeled as socially acceptable in almost every sitcom on television.

Emotional incest is yet another form of emotional abuse. Emotional incest commonly involves the reversal of the parent/child roles. When this occurs, the mother or father "parentifies" the child who is then manipulated to gratify the unmet childhood needs of the parent. This typically manifests as the parent pumping the child for the unconditional love that she should herself be giving.

Do I really agree with this thought, or have I been pressured into believing it? How do I want to respond to this feeling – distract myself from it, repress it, express it or just feel it until it changes into something else?

Until all of the emotions are accepted indiscriminately (and acceptance does not imply license to dump emotions irresponsibly or abusively), there can be no wholeness, no real sense of well being, and no solid sense of self esteem.

This is essential because without a properly functioning ego, you have no center for makinghealthy choices and decisions. All too often, your decisions are based on the fear of getting in trouble or getting abandoned, rather than on the principles of having meaningful and equitable interactions with the world.

Mindfulness is a perspective of benign curiosity about all of your inner experience.

in a parellel with false hunger, feeling tired is sometimes unrelated to sleep deprivation, it's instead an emotional experience of the abandonment depression. I believe that emotional tiredness comes from not resting enough in a safe relationship with yourself or another. this emotional exhaustion often masquerades as physiological tiredness. unfortunately, over time the two can become confusingly intertwined.

Guilt is sometimes camouflaged fear

A great loss brings up an emotional storm that opens up a hidden reservoir of childhood pain