For everyone who was called difficult for noticing, too sensitive for grieving, crazy for naming it.
Each particle is a person. Lines connect those whose wounds rhyme. Hover to glimpse, click to enter.
The Difficult Kids is a public archive of voices belonging to people who were emotionally abused by a parent. Each particle is a person. Each person is a story. Each story is a small, private apocalypse the rest of the family pretended did not happen.
We are not a support group. We are not therapy. We are the noise of recognition — oh. you too.
We don't name your parents. We don't mediate. We don't promise healing. We promise only this: someone will read your story, and that someone will know exactly what you are talking about.
If you are in crisis, please call a local helpline. We've listed a few in the footer.
The goat is the scapegoat. The one the family loaded with everything they could not carry. We took the name back. The default avatars are goats because the goats deserve a memorial too.
— S., founder
A short list of the organizations, clinicians, and communities who help us make sure every voice is heard, held, and handled with care.
For nearly two decades, Out of the FOG has been the most comprehensive resource on the internet for people raised in homes shaped by personality disorder. They were here before we were. They will be here after.
We link to their glossary on every wound tag in the constellation. If you need a vocabulary for what happened to you, start there.
Read their guide →We have no ads, no parent company, no investor breathing down our necks. We are a small group of people who were called difficult for naming what happened to them — and who decided to make a place where everyone else like us can do the same.
Every contribution goes directly to: hosting, moderation stipends for our volunteer team, clinician honoraria, and a small emergency fund for survivors who reach out in crisis.
we promise: no merch, no crypto, no NFTs, no “exclusive content,” no newsletter spam. Just the work.