Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2123

Tonight's special guest is Bob Eden from Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia, a survivor who shares his story in his own descriptive, articulate words: "After more than 20 years of fighting depression, psychologists, psychiatrists and many cycles of medication, one simple personal insight brought me home. To all those beautiful people who have suffered from depression I say 'Thank you. Simply, thank you' for doing such a wonderful job as beautiful and courageous messengers, such shining beacons! I was delivered by cesarean section; my mother never forgave me for the scar on her belly. Mum was prone to violent outbursts of rage, so I got the crap beaten out of me for many years. The message I internalized was 'Mum is often beating me therefore she does not love me; I must be unlovable, and it is all my fault!' and 'The World is not a Safe Place!' Dad was a mythical being who was always at work, so the message I got was 'Dad never spends any time with me, therefore he does not love me, so I must be unlovable, and it is all my fault.' I became a people-pleaser and totally abandoned my needs. Later, I took a 12-step course for Adult Children of Absent Parents which was helpful. John Bradshaw's work on the Inner Child and Family of Origin opened the flood gates for me as I began to understand what my dysfunctional childhood had produced. I spent the first 40 years of my life chopping off bits of me to fit in and the remainder going back and gathering them all up for I now know that all of me is OK. I realized that I AM the only expert on my life and the pain of depression was the pain of humanity having to live in such a crazy society, so I started the dance which is now over. For me we are all victims of victims and if you don't hand it back, you pass it on. Time to break this multi-generational  cycle of abuse!"