I've had a few fears about writing this blog. I've been afraid it would become too heavy, and few people would read it. Then I received your incredible, meaningful, questions on Father Hunger. I realized then, trying to find healing from Father Hunger is a big, big deal.
Then I received a comment from Danielle, and it rocked my world. She said, "When I was 11-13 my dad never even talked to me. He would tell me I looked and acted too much like my mom (who had just left him) so he wanted nothing to do with me. I went online and started getting into major trouble. Phone sex, cyber-sex, webcam shows, you name it I did it."
If this blog helps one person like Danielle, it's worth it. So how does one go about getting healed from Father Hunger? And how do you deal with father hunger? I have a few ideas and your comments gave me some more.
Two Ideas for Coping with Father Hunger
1. Every person who overcame Father Hunger had to first overcome denial.
Denial is an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety. By denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable, we attempt to protect ourselves. No one wants to think about or have those awful feelings of being neglected, rejected, or even abandoned. So, it is very easy, when it comes to Father Hunger, to pretend the hurt that comes from a broken relationship with him doesn't really matter.
The only problem is denial only works for a little while, and then the hurt comes back, and usually even stronger. There is a saying from the Bible that goes, you can't heal a wound by saying it's not there! It's kind of like finding out you have Cancer. The doctor tells you if you don't have an operation, you will die soon. Yes, the surgery will hurt, but at least you will live. Emotionally, healing can't really begin until we admit the painful truth that Father Hunger is real.
2. Don't react to Father Hunger by acting out and thereby making matters much worse.
It's easy to overreact to the kind of pain Father Hunger brings. Sometimes people who have Father Hunger lash out in rebellion. Others look for any kind of medication they can find to try to make the pain go away. But acting out to solve Father Hunger never works.
I received a comment from a really honest girl named Rheagan. What she had to say stopped me in my tracks. Her father really hurt her sister and her. "He left us with a shovel and no direction on how to fill a huge hole. It seems we're using guys over and over and hurting them by tossing them away and going for another one different trying to see as if maybe, like a puzzle, the piece will fit in. Sometimes you get a piece that is almost right, but the edge is different and the only piece that fits is the father. Without him, we keep searching trying to find it, without realizing the piece is hidden."
Tossing guys away and purposely hurting them is a wrong response to Father Hunger. And as I have said all along, giving in to guys isn't the answer either. Take a look at the comment I received from Juli, "A lady who goes to schools and talks about abstinence holds up two hearts cut out of foil then she crumples them together. She makes everyone laugh by saying 'I bet you've never seen foil having sex!' After she takes them a part, she tries to make them look smooth again, but she can't. It means that even if we don't think it does, sex does something to crumple our heart. We need to protect our heart as much as possible."
Then I received a comment from Cali. I was stunned by her anger. "They say that you hurt the ones you love most. Well then in that case I guess my dad loves me to death!"
Covering the Pain Causes More Pain
Trying to cover the pain by rage, sex, drugs, self-harm or any other false feel good never works. In fact, acting out can cause more hurt to ourselves than even what our fathers may have done to us. If you are acting out, you need to stop. You're only making matters much worse. And in the end, the only one you're hurting is yourself.
Colleen's father was abusive and so she turned to cutting to numb the pain, but she got help from a HopeCoach. Read Colleen's story of HOPE here.
Let's talk next about "Reaching out for a Father."
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You sound very compassionate and caring. It sounds look you are a tremendous support to him. You are welcome to chat with one of our HopeCoaches to find more resources for him. We help teens and young adults globally. Here is where you can chat with us https://www.thehopeline.com/gethelp/
I am a counselor to teens on an international site. I have a client I have been talking to daily for more than 6 months, a 16 year old boy, lives with alcoholic non-functioning parents who do not want him, desperately wants a father figure and mentor. I have a whole story I could tell but I need to find a way to get his story out because it is hard to find someone who wants to take on such a significant role, but he needs that support to survive. He is suicidal. He had a referral to a psychologist who prescribed some pills but charges a fee (modest by our standards, impossible by his). I am trying to keep him afloat until someone is willing to help him.
Lindsey, you sound like an amazing person. Your dad is missing out on an incredible daughter. But it also sounds like he is a really messed up person himself. Please know that rape and sexual abuse are NEVER your fault. So proud of you for working towards healing. If you ever want to just chat about it, HopeCoaches are here to encourage you, pray with you, and listen with compassion and understanding. We are cheering for you! Chat online with us anytime - http://www.thehopeline.com/gethelp/
My story is long, but my father hunger probably won't ever be fixed. I mean maybe it will, because I got a VERY close relationship with God and he heals me in all the phsycological damage that's been done in various things to me in the past
I didn't lose my virginity til I was 19 by being raped then sexually abused. It was my own fault in a way for letting myself get in that situation, but God healed that nightmare pain I experienced from it so it's not an issue for me anymore. It's just a thing of the past. I have a lot of those. that experience was the worst thing across every planet.
My dad disowned me when I was 12. Prior to that when I was in elementary school and my parents were together in my kid eyes he was a great dad. He's the one who taught me about abstinance. which is why if that rape/sex abuse never happened I would still be a virgin. But back then besides his here and there bullying to me I thought he was a great dad. When he disowned me and ever since I just fill empty in a way. I miss the times where he was around and loved me. Now that I"m older I understand what his character is really like and there were things that happened in between more history stuff, and I know he's not a nice guy he's a liar and other things but I just miss the good times good relationship we had when I was in elementary school. I'll never get that back though, because even though I tried having conversations for the past few years through facebook even in person at 18, we're nothing a like. Like we're just strangers. the void is still there and I'm trying to recover from very things from my past and I dunno I'm unhappy. I believe part of it has to do with the dad missing. But I'm going to have to get over it sooner or later. God will heal me. My biological dad means nothing to me anymore. I survived 14 years without him, it's God that I need. I don't need that guy.
My father finally realized what he did to me(abandoning me for 7 yrs) caused me alot of psychological issues.. leading to meaningless sex and abuse on my self. Hes working hard to regain my trust but its really hard when I always feel like hes just playing me and will be gone by the end of the year..