Anonymous wrote:How deeply his childhood affected his entire being. I knew he had a rough childhood with divorced parents. And a dad who drank a lot (but not uncommon for his profession in the NE, so overlooked) and a mom who was nice, but eccentric. The extent of the abuse, however, did not come out for years.
It's one thing to date someone with "mommy/daddy" issues. It's another to have your parent beat you, another expose you to sex and drugs, one be an alcoholic, etc. And not talk about it because it became your normal (and also probably shame.)
And enlisting in the army and getting caught in the cluster-f of post 9/11, Bush-era war didn't help things either.
+1 except for the last paragraph. The depression that stems my DH's childhood abuse is more of an issue than I thought it would be, even though he told me about it before we got engaged. He's asleep right now (and has been for hours) because of this latest bout of depression. It's a problem, and therapy and meds are only helping so much.