Of all the hurts accumulated throughout life, family betrayal is the worst. When your own relatives turn against you, it’s almost unbearable.
When I was a child, I was abused. When my parents found out, many years later, they turned a blind eye to my pain. Why? because of something stupid. What makes it worse is they are dead now, and I may never really understand how they could have done this. When your family turns their back on you, it’s like torment.
There’s physical pain, which, in time, it heals. There’s the pain of mental illness and the pain of trauma, which is like neverending darkness. But when your own mother, father, or other family members betray you in your darkest hour, it’s a pain that’s hard to describe. But I will try, I will attempt to share a few reasons why this pain is the worst.
Families are supposed to be tight-knit and loyal to each other. Unlike the average Joe on the street, a sister is supposed to be there for you. Your brother is supposed to be trustworthy. Your mother and father are supposed to stand in the gap for you and fight.
When this doesn’t happen in your family for some reason, the betrayal is deep. If you cannot trust your family, you probably feel like you cannot trust many others either.
Let’s say your husband cheated, and you chose to forgive him, but then he did it again. He has proven that his infidelity is not a mistake, rather a choice.
This is confusing because you are supposed to be closer to each other than any other member of your household. Your partner has betrayed you, regardless of a commitment. Betrayal breaks this bond and leaves you wondering why you didn’t see it coming. It leaves you confused.
I once told a family member that it hurt more thinking I was stupid than what they did to me. Basically, when a cousin or brother, for instance, deceives or lies to you, they assume you will believe. They give you no credit for being able to see through the thin veneer of falsehood.
Family members know each other pretty well, and they know when they are being betrayed. It hurts immeasurably for a loved one to think you are stupid enough to allow this hurt.
So, they tricked you. They fooled, lied, and left you to pick up the pieces of your tainted relationship. So, what can you do now? Well, there are a few ways you can cope with this in a healthy manner. The hurt doesn’t go away, but your life must go on.
Yes, I said it. You must forgive them. Now, this doesn’t mean you cannot remember and still try to work through your feelings about the incident. This is especially true if the one who betrayed you is no longer living.
You’ve probably heard the old saying about forgiveness being more for your own benefit than for theirs, and this is true. Not forgiving the ones who’ve caused you pain will cultivate bitterness in your life.
As for those who are still among the living, after forgiveness comes distance. Some of those people who betrayed you must be loved from afar. You cannot submerge yourself in a close relationship with someone you cannot trust. Care about them, yes, but try to limit time spent with them for your own well-being.
Remember, forgiveness is number one, right. This means you cannot try and avenge yourself after what they’ve done to you. I know you want to, but it’s simply unhealthy.
By being vengeful, you are lowering yourself to their level. You cannot get revenge without feeling regret for your actions afterward, and I don’t care how tough you think you are. This is your family I’m talking about.
If you can stand to think of what happened to you, face your family member. They may deny or avoid the questions but do it anyway. In short, I can tell you this: You are not the problem, they are. Family members who betray are dealing with something inside themselves, not really a problem with you.
As for me, my parents didn’t report my abuse because they didn’t want to cause problems with the man who abused me or disturb his family. Now, knowing that made me even angrier, but at least I know they were cowards and dysfunctional people, even though I loved them.
When I was betrayed, I wasn’t as emotional as I have been in the last few months. I don’t think I ever come to terms with my parent’s looks of apathy. I couldn’t read their minds, but it sure seemed like my trauma was considered and then quickly pushed behind them.
For the past months, I’ve grieved over those things until finally taking back control over my emotions. Eventually, no matter how long it takes, you have to control yourself. You have to understand that it isn’t your fault that they failed you, whatever the case may be.
You will have to cope with the hurt according to how close you are to the family member. While it may not be as hard to deal with a conniving cousin, it can be devastating to deal with a pathologically lying wife.
You can forgive all of them, but some may not be as easy to get away from as others. Deal accordingly, and this will help you understand how to draw boundaries from now on. Yes, you can draw boundaries with your spouse. In other words, learn who you can trust.
It’s best that you don’t hold all this inside. I’ve tried to keep my pain a secret, but you see, I’ve told you all. I’ve also told a few of my close family and friends about the trauma and the betrayal. You see, family betrayal is not something you need to deal with on your own. Other people can help you hash out the details and understand what to do.
That’s it. You have to finally learn to let go of what happened to you, even if you were hurt and then hurt again. It doesn’t matter how many times life sears you with pain, you have to release the unforgiveness right there in your chest and let the love come back.
Family betrayal, as you see, is traumatic in its own right, so always remember to take care of yourself during and after the conflicts. Healing may take a while, but it’s always worth it.
After all, I’ve harbored these feelings for decades. Don’t do this to yourself. I want better for you.
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Admiring the courage I know it required for you to write this.
Wishing you the best healing.
YOU ARE BETTER THAN ME, I SEEK REVENGE AND WILL NOT REST.......
Thank you for sharing such an intimate experience. My daughter and I were betrayed by her father and his family after the passing of our son. Others also disappointed me when they did not acknowledge my son's passing. It has taken me four years to let go of my anger, bitterness would be a better word. Now I am working on forgiveness.
Thank you, Daphne. I have many ghosts, but not like the ones you may think.
Thank you for sharing your story. That was immensely brave and I admire your courage ❤. My mother was sexually abused by her father and two brothers leaving her emotionally unavailable and distant with me. She neglected me and allowed my grandfather to have access to me as she worked. He abused me from a very young age so all the affection I know is through sex. My family are narcissists who live in victimhood and cast me as a blacksheep because I have struggled throughout my life, attracting toxic abusive partners who would also rape me. I had no idea I was being raped until a couple of years ago. How sad is that? I completely forgot what happened to me as a child because I thought that was love. This trauma has destroyed my mind in thus destroying my body. I have a relationship with my sister however it isn't as close as I'd like,she is a narcissist too as was I until life broke me. Thank God for bringing me back from my dark nights of my soul in the plenty. I'm just starting to turn my light on and open my heart space for myself and surrender my sufferings into the divine. I am starting to forgive and let go. This is liberation! Thank you for your sage words in the plenty. May you be safe, healthy and abundant. Many blessings to you friend 🙏 💛 ✌