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After experiencing a flare-up of insomnia during the November 29 episode Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Tyler Baltierra sought help from a therapist. Catelyn Lowell‘s husband actually jumped on a call to Dr. Dow, who challenged the 30-year-old to revisit the most painful time of his childhood. And that’s when Tyler revealed that the sexual abuse he suffered as an 8-year-old affects him every day. Especially as a parent of kids that age.
“I definitely feel over-vigilant about my kids and I think as my eldest daughter Nova gets closer to the age at which things happened to me, I feel like paranoia of, how, everything from her teachers and where and who” , he said .
dr Dow asked Tyler to close his eyes and explain where he felt fear when thinking about his past. “I get kind of scared. … I need help. Get me out of here,” Tyler said. So the therapist suggested, “Go back to that eight-year-old Tyler who was really scared,” but Tyler burst into tears and said, “Yeah, I don’t think I can. We’re sorry.”
Tyler further explained, “I get angry. … I feel very betrayed by adults, and I think the message that no one will help me, so I need to find a way to get through this without it affecting me forever.
The doctor then said to Tyler, “Just have some compassion for that little boy because I know that inner father in you takes such good care of your children. What would your inner father say about this little Tyler?” And fighting back his tears, Tyler replied, “Just that I’m really, really sorry. I’m sorry you weren’t protected and I’m sorry. I’m just sorry.”
Tyler went on to say that he was “ashamed” of all the good in his life after all he had endured, so the doctor suggested they meet twice a week to process his trauma.
want more? New episodes of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on MTV.