| July
31, 1999
Dear Readers,
This site was
launched five months ago, on the last day of February 1999, and it was called
"Dr. Irene's Get-With-The-Program Self-Help and Info Resource."
It was designed to touch all the addiction areas I deal with, from
codependency to anger addiction to sex addiction to food addiction, etc.
But you, dear
readers, emailed en mass letting me know that you were most interested in
verbal abuse. You told me you couldn't find enough verbal & emotional
abuse material on the web. You told me that while there were places for
victims to go, there were few resources for abusers. You told me you liked
hearing it straight, and that you did not want your information
sugarcoated or otherwise made palatable. (Good, cuz I'm not a
hand-holding, enabling-type therapist.) You also liked the site's upbeat
style - where wit and humor add levity to a very serious subject.
Because of you
"Dr. Irene's Verbal Abuse (Site)!" was born in April...or May? Whatever. By the way,
even the title is a parody: since I talk
straight, you get my "verbal abuse." (STOP! Before anybody out
there thinks I'm abusing them, lighten up. Pull those buttons back in and don't give me so much power!)
Creating this site is an act
of love. It comes from the heart (tempered by the head - because heart
without head will get you into big trouble...). And you've responded:
In March 1800
surfers visited. Five months later, in July, almost 7000 of you stopped by. About half of you
are "regulars," checking back regularly for new material,
emailing me, making contributions. You have made Ouchhh! an overwhelmingly successful support
list. A second abused person's list (Yeouchhh!) was
recently introduced since Ouchhh! was so big, people were dropping out
complaining of too much email in their boxes! Grrrr! support for abusers is finally coming
along, with no thanks to me, who had the sign-up process messed up
for way too long. And, we've won our first award
in July for noteworthy psychology content!
Thank you to each
and every one of you. You made this site possible: thanks to people brave enough to
ask for email advice, to those who have volunteered their story, to the participants on the lists or the board.
Thank you to those who write me with suggestions. Thank you to those who
challenge me (I love controversy!). Thank you to the nameless surfers who
appreciate the material and do or do not send their friends... I wish I could answer each and every email I
receive. I can't, but I do read everything you send (Promise!) and
appreciate and respond to your input.
With much love
& gratitude to all,
Dr. Irene
Go to Thanks Again |
