If you havent read the previous post, it’s below this update text, so if you wish to have some context you can go ahead and read it.
UPDATE POST:
Earlier today we spoke for the first time on the phone after our argument 3 days ago. I had initially sent him a message asking him if he could please send me some money to go get the haircut he so dearly wanted me to get, as well as money to go with my friends to the mall. 3 minutes later he called me, we exchanged hellos, and so he proceeded to instruct how I am to cut my hair, and that I am not to grow out my hair back to my “ugly” curls until I “finish my service”, it seems he is still delusional about my service in the army. I was anxious and so I just said yes to him, I obeyed him. He then began to bring up me leaving the army, expressing how disappointed he always is in me, also expressed his disappointment and anger when I set high goals and then fail to achieve them. He used two primary examples of this, one being the army (I was hyped about the army so I even joined a special forces branch, in which I left following the circumstances I was in) and also sometime 2 years ago when I was hyped about starting waterpolo and in the end left after a month because I was utterly mistreated by my instructor and also been avoided by my teammates. He explained that I give up on my goals the moment a small obstacle is presented in front of me. He continued to express that I am weak, and also I shouldn’t set goals because I fail to achieve them and give up on them. That which hurt the most is that he told my that I would ultimately fail to go to England to study English, and slandered my inability to achieve my ultimate dream, and that I am better off not studying and doing something else. The only thing where he said he takes his hat off as respect is when I achieved a GPA of 3.86 which he also expressed his disappointment as it was 3.96 before the exams, saying that because I faced a bit if pressure due to exams I again failed and in the end lowered my grade.
Before ending the call, he said “I know your soul is probably in pieces right now, but this is the truth.”
ORIGINAL POST:
I am 18 M, I went to visit my dad as I often do nowadays because he has recently been diagnosed with Stage 1A pancreatic cancer, thankfully the tumour was successfully removed and all is going relatively well, but I try to be there for him as much as possible to cheer him up and keep him mentally well because I love my father dearly and so does he.
For context, I live in a country where the moment you finish high school, you are subject to a temporary conscription to the army for over a year. I left after 2 months because I suffered from general anxiety, anxiety/panic attacks, bullying from peers within the base, anorexia, and depression. Because of my exemption now I have a whole hear to myself so I try to make the most of it. This has made me feel like a burden to myself, my family, and most importantly my father. I was unable to complete this service and simply drowned in these symptoms of mine, I am cursed with a sensitive nervous system so every emotion I feel is to the maximum.
As it had seemed, my father had a rough day to say the least, so he was already not in the mood beforehand. The moment he gazed his eyes upon me, he firstly criticised how I was dressed, calling me a moron because I wore shorts while it was chilly outside, to which I responded that I simply didn’t felt that cold. Then his criticism turned into anger, he did not like the look of my hair even though it’s simply a 2 month grown buzz cut as I plan to regrow my hair back to my curls. He threatened to send me back to the army if I don’t cut my hair, and that im ugly with it at this length, and that he has a madness I haven’t seen yet if I were not to cut it. I replied with telling him that it’s my hair and I decide what to do with it, I like it this length and I plan to grow it out anyways. He didn’t like that. We then left the house and went in the elevator. While in the elevator he slandered me for my plain black T-shirt, asking me if I ever look myself in the mirror when I leave the house, and that the shirt is of shit condition, I told him that I simply didn’t notice anything wrong with the shirt. Up to this point all this was tearing me apart within. Then we got in the car, while in the car he brought the discussion about my hair again, and then I decided to act, and told him with a collective demeanour “This is my hair and I choose what I do with it, I don’t understand you’re problem, I don’t want to shave it again. Look dad, you have to check your emotions, I understand you’re going through a lot and that’s why im here as your son to stick around with you, and from the moment I arrived you simply harass me.” His response was that of denial, and then he proceeded to weaponise my leave from the army against me, that all my friends are doing their service just fine and im at home doing fuck all, and for that reason I should keep my hair short. From that point on I shut my mouth, I was dead inside, and did not want to continue speaking.
The problem is, is that he always targets me for some reason whenever he is angry, he always tries to find a way to slander me, and reduce me. This would happen even before his diagnosis, my brother also did not do the army, yet he isn’t treated this way. If any dads in here can tell me if my fathers actions are valid because im a disappointment, please do so.
Thank you.