⚔️ What it means to have grown up with a violent parent
Growing up with a violent parent meant living in a constant state of hypervigilance, where violence or the threat of it hung in the air like smoke—you never felt completely safe in the place that should have protected you.
You may have learned to read micro-expressions and body language like a survival manual, developing incredible threat assessment skills that helped you sense when situations might turn dangerous. Your nervous system became calibrated for chaos, making peaceful moments feel strangely uncomfortable, and you might find yourself either avoiding conflict at all costs or reacting strongly when you feel threatened—both strategies that once kept you safe.
You may have developed an overactive danger radar that sometimes struggles to distinguish between true threats and false alarms. Physical closeness can make you jumpy, even with people you trust, and you might find yourself attracted to fixing broken situations or helping others through chaos because it feels like familiar territory where you know how to navigate.