Hello and welcome to my podcast, The Wellness Project with Des. On today’s podcast episode I speak with Jennifer Falloon about being raised by a mother with a mental illness.
I’m Desiree, a Mental Health Therapist that is passionate about helping people improve their mental health and live a healthy and fulfilled life. One way I do this is by interviewing experts in the field of mental health and wellness as well as those that have struggled with their mental health but have gained control over it and now live fulfilling lives. In this episode, we will hear from Jennifer about how her mother’s emotional abuse impacted her mental health and ultimately, her life.
Emotional Abuse– Emotional or psychological child abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth. This may include constant criticism, threats, or rejection, as well as withholding love, support, or guidance (childwelfare.gov).
Growing up in the 80’s Jennifer explains that there wasn’t much in the way of mental health awareness. Her mother was mentally ill but went undiagnosed for a long time. Eventually her mother was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. But on top of the mental illnesses, Jennifer’s mother was also horribly cruel and emotionally abusive toward her. Jennifer was constantly belittled and told she was a liar. Nothing she did was ever good enough but she was constantly told that she thought she was better than everyone else. Because of this, Jennifer didn’t want to stand out or experiment with her hair or clothing because her mother would criticize her. She learned to be small and to not stand out.
Due to the emotional abuse from her mother, Jennifer struggled with low self-esteem and depression. She became conniving and sneaky as a teen to be able to have any sort of freedom. Even after moving out, she was still a mess for many years. She became pregnant at 19 and had a string of unhealthy relationships. As she got older, Jennifer would self-sabotage when presented with any positive experiences or opportunities.
In her late 20’s Jennifer decided she needed to make changes and break free from the mental carnage her mother had inflicted on her. She realized she couldn’t live like this anymore and began working on her mental health.
Listen to Jennifer’s powerful story to hear about how emotional abuse effected her and how she began to heal.
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That sounds very rough.
I was lucky in that my parents tried to do the right thing.
I was different from them (their adopted daughter), so it was difficult for me and for them.
But I did like what they did, and how we lived as a family.