By the time Victoria was seven years old, her parents had divorced, and her mother was remarried. It was then that she became subjected to physical and emotional abuse. She was repeatedly told she would never amount to anything and that she would “eat shit” for the rest of her life. Because this behavior was the norm in her household, Victoria didn’t realize that it wasn’t the norm for others until she met her boyfriend’s parents.
Victoria agreed to share her story for the first time publicly on our podcast because she wants parents to understand how the inner voices of their children are shaped by the messaging they receive growing up. She calls some of these voices a “fake identity” because they are the voices of others, specifically the nay-sayers, and not the voices of who we truly are. We’ve referred to these voices as the “Itty Bitty Shitty Committee”. Whatever name you give them, they live inside each one of us.
In this episode, Victoria walks us through her struggle to release the “fake identity” bestowed upon her, and how she was able to break the cycle of abuse.
Click here to listen.
If you would like to reach out to Victoria, you can email her at vkuklina@yahoo.com.