(This blog was originally posted on September 6, 2016)
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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
Recently, I
heard a news story that absolutely broke my heart. In August 2016, a
four-year-old-girl was rescued from an abusive home in Hot Springs, Arkansas.1
When police officers rescued her she reportedly told them that her name was
“Idiot” because that’s what her mother’s boyfriend allegedly called her.
Apparently, she was called that so often that she didn’t even know her real
name.
According to John Kappas, Ph.D., the subconscious mind works on expectation and imagination. Over time, we learn to expect others to respond to and interact with us in a particular way based on our previous experience with those individuals. Eventually, this treatment becomes part of our subconscious mental script as we also learn to internalize the message or emotion we perceive in those interactions. All of this can and does affect self-confidence and self-esteem, the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder explained. No matter what the “message” is, the more you hear and repeat it to yourself your subconscious mind starts to believe and even “own” that message. When everyone around you constantly bombards you with so much criticism and negativity, including referring to you as an idiot or some other derogatory slur, it’s no surprise that your self-confidence and self-esteem take a hit. It’s really only a matter of time until you start to believe in the negative hype, and when you are as young and impressionable as this child it takes even less time to create a negative mental script.
Now that this
little girl has been found and her alleged abusers—her mother and her mother’s
boyfriend—are in custody, she can start to heal from the psychological damage
she endured as well as her physical injuries and emaciation. Hopefully the
inner resources that helped her endure the negative treatment and messages she
received during these early years will also help her to heal, thrive and find
happiness, safety and security throughout the rest of her life.
1. “Abused 4-Year-Old Child Tells Police Her Name Is ‘Idiot’: Mother, Boyfriend Charged After Abuse Reported” by Anneclaire Stapleton, CNN. http://www.clickorlando.com/news/national/abused-4yearold-child-tells-police-her-name-is-idiot
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