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46
“‘No’ Isn’t A Code For ‘Try Harder’”: Woman Refuses To Take In Mom Who Ruined Her Childhood
A 2023 report by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism revealed that around 7.5 million children in the United States live with a parent with an alcohol abuse disorder. Such environments often lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The author of today’s story is living proof of these statistics, having dealt with her abusive, alcoholic mother her entire childhood. After moving out and removing herself from the toxicity, the ghosts of her past came back to haunt her after her now homeless mother reached out for help.
She flat-out refused, only for her relatives to paint her as the villain. It made her wonder if she was, indeed, the cruel, heartless daughter she was made out to be.
RELATED:
Alcoholic parents inflict long-term damage on their children
Image credits: francescosgura/Envato (not the actual photo)
A woman had her abusive, alcoholic mother reach out to her, asking to move in
Image credits: stevanovicigor/Envato (not the actual photo)
She refused but came off as the ungrateful and “selfish” daughter
Image credits: practice40hrsz
Children never outgrow the effects of having an alcoholic parent, even when they leave home
Image credits: Lance Reis/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The author admitted that she has yet to get through the traumatic experience of growing up with her mother. According to psychotherapist Dr. Sharon Martin, LCSW, the full impact may not manifest until years later.
In her article for PsychCentral, Dr. Martin explains that the personality traits and relationship patterns that one may have developed to cope may affect a person’s professional life, romantic relationships, and even parenting methods.
“They show up as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, stress, anger, and relationship problems,” she wrote.
Dr. Martin describes alcoholic homes as “chaotic” and “unpredictable,” adding that everyone typically walks on eggshells around the abuser. And because of the erratic behaviors, “you never know who would be there or what mood they’d be in.”
“There may have been a lot of overt tension and conflict,” Dr. Martin stated. “Or you might have sensed all the tension just below the surface like a volcano waiting to erupt.”
According to Dr. Martin, children of alcoholics may still have the urge to rescue their parents. This may explain why the author feels a sense of guilt about refusing to help her mother.
Limiting interactions is the best way to deal with an abusive parent
Image credits: David Ross/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Based on the author’s account, her mother hasn’t changed her abusive ways, gaslighting her when she refused to take her in. Worse, other family members also piled on her.
According to author and psychotherapist Kaytee Gillis, LCSW, limiting interactions would be the way to go. As she explained in an article for Choosing Therapy, the distance decreases the chances of their abusive behavior. Gillis even encourages going no-contact if the situation calls for it.
Gillis also emphasizes that the abused person shouldn’t allow themselves to be burdened by guilt or self-doubt.
“You were powerless to stop or change any abuse you experienced as a child,” she wrote, adding that it is important to remind yourself that it wasn’t your fault and that you are taking the necessary steps to move forward.
The author shouldn’t feel guilty about refusing to take her mother in, regardless of what the rest of her family says. It’s within her right to prioritize herself and move far away from the trauma and every reminder of it.
Most commenters sided with the author
Others shared similar experiences
However, some believe she “should have let bygones be bygones”
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What do you think ?
Bowtechie 1 week ago
How nice of all those relatives to volunteer to let OP's mom stay with them! (did you sense the sarcasm because I meant it)
Tabitha 1 week ago (edited)
But first, of course, they decided to be drunk and a*****e mama’s flying monkeys, entertaining us with their selective memories, their hollow and hypocritical cries of “But but but family!”, and their wildly dissociative YTAs. They didn’t grow up in the hell house that drunk and a*****e mama made OP live in as a child, so they can STFU and open their own doors to mama and her drunken horseshit. Leave OP tf alone. I just hope drunk and a*****e mama doesn’t know where OP lives, or she might just turn up on the doorstep and decide to camp out there until she’s allowed in, or OP calls the cops to remove her (my favorite, and the choice I hope OP would make). People who think survivors should just welcome their abusers back into their lives with open arms can f**k the whole way off. The vast majority of abusers go to their graves never once wondering if THEY did anything wrong. They always think they’re complete angels and their victims are the bad guys. You can put both of my parents on that list, btw. Five children who left the second they each turned 18 and never contacted them again, and my parents would try to convince people—-who were good parents, so their own kids and grandkids visited regularly—-that all five of us kids were horrible and selfish and they (my parents) were the ones who were victimized by us. Total b******t, and I know my parents’ neighbors didn’t buy one iota of it, and decided then and there to socialize with my parents as little as possible, because when I was in school, there were parents of my friends who liked me and invited me to their house all the time, but would regularly decline invitations from my parents to get together for child-free dinners or whatever. Thank goodness for the good people who aren’t sleepwalking through life and can see right through any b******t that rotten people try to sell them.
Load More Replies...
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 week ago (edited)
How about the waste-of-oxygen relatives and YTA dumbskulls volunteer to house the perpetually inebriated excuse of a birth-giver themselves. SMH!!!
LaurieAnnaT 1 week ago
If her daughter wasn’t available, what would she do? That’s the answer.
Bowtechie 1 week ago
How nice of all those relatives to volunteer to let OP's mom stay with them! (did you sense the sarcasm because I meant it)
Tabitha 1 week ago (edited)
But first, of course, they decided to be drunk and a*****e mama’s flying monkeys, entertaining us with their selective memories, their hollow and hypocritical cries of “But but but family!”, and their wildly dissociative YTAs. They didn’t grow up in the hell house that drunk and a*****e mama made OP live in as a child, so they can STFU and open their own doors to mama and her drunken horseshit. Leave OP tf alone. I just hope drunk and a*****e mama doesn’t know where OP lives, or she might just turn up on the doorstep and decide to camp out there until she’s allowed in, or OP calls the cops to remove her (my favorite, and the choice I hope OP would make). People who think survivors should just welcome their abusers back into their lives with open arms can f**k the whole way off. The vast majority of abusers go to their graves never once wondering if THEY did anything wrong. They always think they’re complete angels and their victims are the bad guys. You can put both of my parents on that list, btw. Five children who left the second they each turned 18 and never contacted them again, and my parents would try to convince people—-who were good parents, so their own kids and grandkids visited regularly—-that all five of us kids were horrible and selfish and they (my parents) were the ones who were victimized by us. Total b******t, and I know my parents’ neighbors didn’t buy one iota of it, and decided then and there to socialize with my parents as little as possible, because when I was in school, there were parents of my friends who liked me and invited me to their house all the time, but would regularly decline invitations from my parents to get together for child-free dinners or whatever. Thank goodness for the good people who aren’t sleepwalking through life and can see right through any b******t that rotten people try to sell them.
Load More Replies... SheamusFanFrom1987 1 week ago (edited)
How about the waste-of-oxygen relatives and YTA dumbskulls volunteer to house the perpetually inebriated excuse of a birth-giver themselves. SMH!!!
LaurieAnnaT 1 week ago
If her daughter wasn’t available, what would she do? That’s the answer.
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