Melody Thomas Scott Manages Trauma From Years of Abuse With Meditation and Therapy
Melody Thomas Scott is best known for playing the rich and glamorous Nikki Newman on The Young and the Restless. However, Scott’s real life was not always such a fairytale. She experienced abuse during her childhood and has been working to heal from it.
Melody Thomas Scott experienced years of abuse as a child
Scott was born in Los Angeles on April 18, 1956. In her 2020 memoir, Always Young and Restless: My Life On and Off America’s #1 Daytime Drama, she shared that she was born to a teenage mother who was still in high school. According to the actor, she had always felt a “disconnect” between her and her mother. Scott wrote, “She did not want me. She did not love me.”
Scott mostly lived with her grandparents, though they were not very loving either. She alleged that her grandmother was just as “disconnected” from Scott and “discontented with my existence as my mother was.”
Additionally, Scott described being “terrified” of her grandmother, whose moods were unpredictable and who was known to throw “fits of hysterical rage.” Meanwhile, Scott’s grandfather hardly ever interacted with her, preferring to hide away in the attic. Scott was a child actor, and she was pushed into the career by her grandmother, who had Hollywood ambitions.
She recalled being sexually abused by various men in the industry as her grandmother witnessed and did nothing. “You see, my grandmother was so ambitious for me (and her) to succeed that anything that I had to do to maybe get ahead in the business was fair play,” Scott said.
“It didn’t have to be a director or a producer, either. A grip, a boom operator, it didn’t matter. In her naiveté, any man in showbiz was one who could help us.”
How Melody Thomas Scott heals from her trauma
Scott revealed that, because of her traumatic childhood, she has been dealing with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. The actor told People that she is working on healing “piece by piece” with therapy sessions and regular meditation.
The actor also believes becoming a mother has been an integral part of her healing journey. She and her husband of 37 years are parents to three daughters. “It gave me an opportunity to raise a child in a way that I was not raised,” Scott said. “That became very important to me.” She added,
“There was a chance to correct so much that went wrong when I was a child. I intentionally chose the exact opposite of the decisions that were made for me. Now to watch them grow into beautiful women with their own children, I am so proud and happy.”
Melody Thomas Scott has not forgiven her grandmother
Scott shared she has not forgiven her late grandmother, especially for how she turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse that was going on. “I’m not ready for that … I don’t know if I ever will because when they are aware, they become complicit and that to me is evil,” she told Page Six. “You don’t allow that to happen to a small child.”
Still, Scott believes her grandmother was dealing with her own mental health issues. She speculated that if her grandmother was diagnosed, she could have had a personality disorder or a mood disorder of some kind that contributed to her behavior.
How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.
How to get help: To connect with mental health resources near you, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website.
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