As a Florida parent, you put your child before all else. Even in divorce, you prioritize their comfort and well-being. Unfortunately, for some people, the negative emotions of divorce can overwhelm them and lead them to making poor decisions.
This is sometimes the case with parents who engage in parental alienation.
How early does PAS manifest?
Healthline examines parental alienation syndrome and its impact on others. Parental alienation occurs when one parent tries to break the relationship between their child and co-parent. Parental alienation syndrome is the resulting damage the child deals with as a victim of parental alienation.
Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) manifests early and has lifelong impacts on victims. This is because parental alienation is a form of child psychological abuse. Many alienating parents use manipulative tactics like gaslighting to get their child on their side. In the short term, PAS victims often doubt their sense of identity and perception of the world around them from a young age. They may develop unhealthy attachment to the alienating parent. They could view them as a savior and sole source of reliable information.
What are the implications in adulthood?
In later life, PAS victims claim that the abuse they faced in childhood colored their adulthood, too. They struggle with higher rates of depression and anxiety. Some even experience post traumatic stress disorder and other panic and trauma disorders.
PAS victims also struggle to create and maintain healthy relationships. This is because many find it hard to trust others. Not only does this interfere in romantic connections, but it can even make it difficult to bond with coworkers or make friends.
Some PAS victims never realize that the parental alienation they suffered through is the cause of their later struggles. Others do. But regardless, it is important to get them help as early as possible.
