It’s Hard to Take Off The Rose-Colored Glasses And See How Our Parents Have Harmed Us
But living in denial is even harder
We all start out with rose-colored glasses when it comes to our parents. As kids, we look up to them, trust them, and believe they know what’s best.
Even if they hurt us, we often rationalize it, telling ourselves that they didn’t mean it or that it’s just how things are. We convince ourselves that their actions were out of love, or that we were too sensitive, overreacting to what was normal.
Growing up, this rationalization becomes a defense mechanism, a way to protect the image we have of them. We bury the hurt, ignore the red flags, and carry on as if everything is fine, because admitting otherwise would shatter the fragile sense of security we’ve built around our childhood.
But sometimes, as we grow older, those glasses start to crack.
When that happens, we have two options: we can choose to keep wearing the glasses, or we can take them off and embark on a healing journey that’s as painful as it is liberating.
Both options have consequences.
A few years ago, I pulled the glasses off and took a hard look at my life.
