I know that all of my children are dealing with several of these types of damage. It’s so hard to accept that I allowed them to be emotionally abused for as long as I did. Now that I’ve stopped enabling my CN husband, I’m now struggling with enabling my children in the effort to counter some of the emotional scarring they’ve suffered. I do establish boundaries for them, but I cave so easily, and I rarely enforce negative consequences, because my husband ONLY used punishment and negative consequences to discipline.

I’ve got to be more assertive with my expectations and consequences, while still being liberal with affection and positive communication. It’s a delicate balance when all of use are still so raw and anxious.