My father was physically abusive to my entire family when I was about two years old. I don't even remember it.

I do, however, remember him screaming at my mother when I was baking a cake at 7 AM as a 3 year old (yes I made cakes as a 3 year old, it's a skill I've since lost) and him flipping out when he came home at 7 PM and my mom was still cooking dinner. Far more recently, he's been emotionally abusive and made me feel like quite the failure for being unable to achieve perfection in my academic pursuits.

Most people don't understand the extent of what abuse as a small child does to you. I currently have depression and a constant fear of failure because I used to do incredibly well in school (having not received a B or 80 - 89 % grade until third grade is mildly miraculous) and if I got anything other than an A on my report card my dad would freak out and ban me from things like playing video games or watching movies for weeks at a time. I was once banned from reading for a short period because I had a project that I ended up being a grand total of one day late on. The depression came with the sudden realization that I was no longer even capable of getting the kinds of grades I used to.

Emotional abuse is probably the most painful kind.