You ARE trapped. You can't always make decisions, do what you want or live how you want to. And I get that this can cause extreme stress, frustration, anger and even depression. I mean who wants to live in a prison when they haven't committed a crime?
Right?
I understand. I sympathize with you. And I've been there too. Not just as a teenager but as an adult dependent on an abusive spouse, who had me trapped in way worse ways than when I was a kid.
Well guess what. You can escape. You can live how you want, make your own decisions and do the things you want to do.
How? But plotting your break to freedom and taking steps to make it happen.
And the first step is to realize that the only person who can fix your situation is YOU. Others won't help you. Or if they do you'll just find that you've gone from one prison to another because you'll now be living under their rules instead of the rules you lived under before.
So the solution is to take control of your life and start planning and acting in ways that will get you what you want.
It sucks. And it can be hard. But it's also amazingly freeing and once you figure it out it becomes easy and even fun.
So how can you accomplish this?
If you're almost out of school and of age (18) then you can start looking for places to live, either alone or with roommates. You can list your options and also the pros and cons of each. Living alone is more expensive but living with others causes a whole set of other problems. Once you know what you want to do and how much it will cost, you'll know if you can reasonably do it or not in the near future. And if not then it's time to find income sources to support you. Because as fun as freedom from parental tyranny is, it also requires that you pay your own way.
If you have a few years to go then it's a good and a bad thing. Bad because unless you have someone else you can stay with you have to deal with the parental units a bit longer and good because you have longer to save money to get out as soon as you can. In the mean time start paying attention and figure out what makes the people you live with happy. You don't have to buy into their line or agree with them. But you are plotting your own freedom so you may consider playing along at least a little to make your life easier. This also usually has the side effect of getting them off your back, which is a good thing.
Finally, and this is very important, you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself honestly if you are part of the problem. This may piss you off but that's ok. Part of the price of freedom is being honest with yourself. So if you're being an ass then you need to admit it and do your part to get along with the people you live with. If not (and I know there are truly abusive and terrible situations out there) then you need to look into alternatives. You can talk to a school counselor or social worker if you need to. Maybe even ask to go into foster care if your home is truly dangerous. You may be able to stay with friends or relatives. It could be that everyone could benefit by taking a break from each other.
The point is that you CAN escape. It may take a little time and it will take effort on your part, but you can live how you want.
PS Running away or getting into trouble on purpose won't fix your problem. It may grant you a few days relief but it's not a good idea long term. Be smart, be calculating and plot your escape. You cna do it!
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