Recently a 35-year-old woman made the difficult choice to sever ties with all of her siblings.
Three years ago, she distance herself from her mother, having grown up in a deeply unhappy household.
Growing up in a challenging environment, she face both emotional and physical hardships. Her father was physically abusive, and her mother, who saw too much of her father in her, subject her to constant emotional and verbal abuse. These experiences led her to develop deep-seat fears and anxieties.
Enduring a difficult childhood, she face years of anger and rage, which came as no surprise. At 16, she manage to break free, but found herself completely alone, without any support.
From that moment on, she had to mature rapidly and navigate life on her own. Despite this, she struggle for years with the decision to distance herself from her mother, simply because of their familial bond.
Seeking inner peace, she decided to cut off communication with her.
Her mother exhibits manipulative and narcissistic behavior, so it came as no surprise when she manage to turn her brother and sister against her.
Although they were never particularly close, she consistently made an effort to be there for her siblings. She welcome them into her home when they need a temporary place to stay, offer support during breakups and birthdays, and went above and beyond in any way she could.
Despite her recent achievement of becoming a doctor just two months ago, neither her sister nor her brother acknowledge this significant milestone. In contrast, she had always been supportive of their accomplishments, yet they have not reciprocate with any congratulatory gestures.
That was the moment she knew it was time to cut ties, just as she had done with her mom.
She even took the drastic step of blocking her siblings on social media to finally get some much-need space from them.
She has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for 12 years, consistently encouraging him to propose. She has inquire about engagement ring and ask about his plans and timeline for their wedding.
Despite her long-standing desire to advance their relationship, her boyfriend has yet to take any significant steps forward.
“It’s definitely a sensitive topic for me,” she confess. “There are days when I tell myself, ‘Everything will happen in its own time.’ But on other days, I can’t help but wonder if they would have propose by now if they really wanted to.”
“I’ve experience a range of painful emotions—feeling hurt, insignificant, and inadequate—when my partner seems uninterest in something I deeply desire, despite claiming otherwise. It’s challenging not to let these negative feelings affect my self-worth, especially when I haven’t been aske about it after such a long time.”
“I’m beginning to feel like my youth is being unfairly taken from me by someone who doesn’t genuinely want to marry me. He comes from a loving and committed family, where his parents are still deeply in love and happily married. I can’t help but wonder if this background influences his view of me—does he think I’m not worthy enough?”
Despite no longer being in contact, her sister fully understands the sensitivity of this topic for her.
Recently, her sister sent her a text message of her engagement ring, and she didn’t send a caption along with it: it was just the photo.
Her sister has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for just two years, and he recently propose to her.
Meanwhile, her sister is aware of the pain she feels about her own partner not proposing even after ten years together.
“Receiving just a photo from her, without any accompanying message, seem like a purposeful effort to hurt my feelings,” she explain.
She suspects her sister deliberately sent her the photo to hurt her feelings, and it’s having the desired effect.
She’s overwhelmed with emotions—feeling extremely low, deeply sad, foolish, isolated, and profoundly wounded.
What guidance can you offer her to navigate this situation?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
