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Sleeping-with-ROCD

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would do. I only told her I must've eaten something bad.<br />

Any mistake or misbehavior was often met <strong>with</strong> excessive<br />

punishment. This included holding dictionaries on outstretched<br />

hands until the pain in my arms became unbearable.<br />

If my arms dropped, this was also met <strong>with</strong> punishment.<br />

Another was kneeling on uncooked rice which occasionally<br />

resulted in bleeding sores on my knees. There was<br />

significant corporal punishment, such as spanking <strong>with</strong> a<br />

belt, wooden spoon, or his hand. I was punched a few times,<br />

and strangled once. It was common to go <strong>with</strong>out a meal or<br />

two.<br />

In looking back, I realize that this was abuse. I can also<br />

see how this affected my sense of self-worth, social development,<br />

and many other things. In his view, locking me in my<br />

room was part of his military standards of reform. I was in<br />

isolation. I was taught that mistakes and failure to adhere<br />

to his strict structure would be met <strong>with</strong> severe consequences.<br />

I was once removed from my home by child protective<br />

services, when teachers from my school recognized strange<br />

behavior, which resulted in the nurse checking me and finding<br />

bruises on my body.<br />

It may be hard for people <strong>with</strong> no experience <strong>with</strong> child<br />

abuse to understand this, but at the time, I saw nothing<br />

wrong <strong>with</strong> what was happening to me. I thought this was<br />

how everyone was raised.<br />

Although my mother eventually caught onto his abuse,<br />

and subsequently left him, the effects of my environment<br />

stayed, and developed into a variety of disorders. I was di-<br />

46

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