Sometimes, the critical voices from all sides can be overwhelming to abuse victims (and non-victims, for that matter). Other times, the criticism of a single loved one will become the inescapable voice in our heads. This is a little advice to tuck away for such times.
If you have survived abuse or neglect, you are not a failure [1]. Having survived at all is an achievement. The scars you bear attest to your strength, not your failure.
It is not your purpose in life to meet the expectations of others, certainly not those of family members and other loved ones incapable of loving you in return.
Obvious as this may sound, make sure you seek validation from someone actually capable of giving it to you. Some people are simply blind. They lack the ability to see you clearly. Others may find it easier to focus on your imagined defects, than their real ones.
Anyone saying you should limit yourself, rather than use the gifts God gave you, may be worried about their own limitations. Criticism that convinces you that you can do nothing right will result in your doing nothing at all.
Self-blame is a paralyzing form of abuse. Try not to engage in it. If you’ve made mistakes, learn from them. That’s how life works for all of us.
Life is always better than death. Choose life… if nothing else to spite your detractors [2]. You have at least as much right to this world as they do.
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[1] This is not to suggest that the victims of abuse and neglect who did not survive were, in any sense, “failures”. The label does not apply.
[2] Small joke. Use every tool at your disposal, including humor.
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ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 
Words to live by! Great advice!
Thanks so much! :0)