Me too!

I'll definately have to stand up and raise my hand on this one. I'm a 32 year old adoptee who had a crappy adoptive family. Now, I will say up front that I was never physically abused. (I'm one of the lucky ones in that respect.) My abuse was mental. During my elementary school years, I didn't know any better. Well, yeah, I guess I did too. But I found out at that early age that it really didn't help to tell anyone. Oh believe me, I went to my friends parents, teachers and counselors, but each and every one of them would come to the same conclusion which was I was an emotionally troubled child who had problems stemming from me being adopted. See, my aparents were "Mr. and Mrs. Pillar of the Community". Amom was a GirlScout Leader, school volunteer. Adad help transport kids to and from ball games, field trips, etc. All of the people I went to had trouble seeing that my aparents could be so hard on a kid. How could they? they were great with Kids! NOT!!! The mental abuse? They'd tell me the most horrible things about my birth parents and how I came to live in their house. They'd call me names and degrade me. They NEVER EVER told me they loved me. I couldn't understand how they could treat my bbrother (we were adopted as a pair) like he was their son. They told me one time that the only reason I was in their home was because they'd wanted a boy and the only boy that was available was by brother, and to get him, they had to take me too. I made it through the teen years, but barely. It was that good ol' stubborn streak in me I guess. To make a long story short, I haven't spoken to them in three years. They "washed their hands of me" so I found out. The last thing they told me was they wish they'd never adopted me. Well, the feeling was mutual. I wish though there was some way they could see the pain and the issues they've left with me even into adulthood. I still have my demons today and I hate that, cause I tend to act out my anger on the wrong people. I know this ended up being a long post, but this is something I feel so strongly about. How can these type of people be chosen to adopt kids? I guess not everyone can see what people really are capable of. I just hope that all kids are able to get the help that they need in all types of abuse cases. And I hope that the people in charge that these kids end up going to will be able to see that not all bruises are visible to the naked eye. A child's heart and soul and spirit can be hurt very badly too. You all are doing a good thing here by being there for others. It makes people feel not so alone. Thanks! Have a good Day! -Sheila-