by PSG editorial team
Stories are how we see our world.
Some days, you may believe the alienator's story about you.
Self Care for all
The power of your story
S
18 spring 2017 PSG
Photo credit: Saiistock
tories are important. The good ones can give us perspective, instill hope and stir us to build a better future. The negative ones can make us despair and loose faith in the world.
Stories are how people come together, how we embrace the bigger picture, how we sense a shared understanding of the world.
Stories are so powerful that they don’t have to be accurate. Even without a grain of truth in them, negative stories can make us suspicious or even judgemental. Targeted by parental alienation, we know all about the impact of these kind of stories. We have felt those looks on our backs, we have seen people who don’t even know us dismissively roll their eyes, even if ever so slightly, at us.
Stories are even powerful enough that they don’t actually have to be told as stories. Our minds are used to piecing a story together—from the uttered words, the silences in between, the body language, the patterns in circumstances, the actions, and the expectations.
Whether we are aware of it or not, all these elements are being woven into a narrative over time.
As an alienated parent, you could rattle off the story that your children believe about you, and you would be pretty right on. Unfortunately, you probably believe that story some days. Especially when already down, you see yourself through those eyes and perhaps even wonder if your child(ren) are better off without you.