10 Self-Care Tips To Support Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) Healing

If you're in the 'family scapegoat' role and in contact with family members who continue to subject you to mental and emotional abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, and narcissistic behaviors, this checklist will aid you in protecting your emotional and mental health.

Self-Care Checklist for FSA Adult Survivor

Step 1: Recognize unsafe, triggering, harmful statements and people

Examples of such statements include:

• "You're too sensitive - I was only kidding!"

• "I was only joking - Why are you getting so upset?"

• "You're so stubborn - You should just apologize!" (As in, apologize to your abuser - abuse is denied/ignored).

• "You can fool other people, but you can't fool us - we know what you're really like."

• "You can't cut ties with your family - you need to find a way to work it out."

• "The real problem is that you won't "forgive and forget" - You need to get over it and move on."

• "Don’t tell anyone you're being abused by a family member. It might damage their reputation and 'abuse' is too strong a word,…