Tyler Perry: A 46-Year-Old African American Male

yler Perry is a 46 year old African American male suffering from PTSD and anxiety due to his childhood trauma of sexual and physical abuse. From his earliest childhood memories, his father brutally, physically abused him, and he was sexually abused by four other adults outside of the home. Tyler never felt safe. He described his childhood as “a living hell”. Once, at age 6, when his mother was gone, his drunken father brutally whipped him with a vacuum cord until the skin was coming off of his back; he had to wait until his father went to sleep before he could run to his aunts for help. Whenever his father didn't receive the answer he wanted to hear about anything, he would lash out and beat Tyler, shouting and calling him bad names. Tyler

However, Tyler's father wasn't the only one who was abusive to him. Tyler has also disclosed that as a child he was "sickly;" he had allergies and needed consistent allergy shots, etc. Well his grandmother thought this was a waste of the family's money. She told Tyler he had "germs on him," and so one day when Perry's mother was away, his grandmother decided "to kill those germs once and for all." She then put Tyler in a bath full of ammonia. As the violence continued Tyler would look to his mother for help. One day Perry's mother got the nerve to leave; she packed up the car with Tyler and his sisters and drove from Louisiana to California. However, that escape was short lived. Tyler's father reported the car stolen, and the family members went to jail until the father came to get them. Perry said his father beat his mother all the way home. He wanted an out so badly, but his mother and aunts couldn't help him escape; this eventually led to him slitting his wrists in a failed attempt to commit suicide. The random, violent beatings continued until he was around 19

He felt ashamed knowing this wasn't right, but he did become sexually aroused and had an erection. He was sexually abused by a male nurse, and a man from church who used God and the Bible to justify his actions when he performed oral sex on him. At the age of 10, he was sexually abused by a friend’s mother as well. All of these experiences left him desperate to leave the house and anxious to even be in his house. He stated he felt he died as a child and when all the bad experiences were happening, he would escape to a “happy place” in his mind like his mom and aunt taking him to the park, until the abuse and trauma was over. He said growing up he couldn't afford counseling, but his strong faith in God helped him endure. (His mother was very religious and took him to church every Sunday.) He said if it wasn't for his faith and belief in the power of prayer, he wouldn't know where he’d be today. When he was in his early 20’s, he saw an interview on Oprah that empowered him to start writing. Someone on the show discussed how writing can have therapeutic effects and help one work out personal problems. He decided to give it a try and once he started writing, the rest is history. He stated that his movies and written plays usually include a lot of humor while provoking thoughts about positive messages of self-worth, love and respect. Although he has become very