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@scout86 I used to think that my mother couldn't handle the truth because she was so vulnerable. Then I realized that "vulnerable" people are awfully good at getting others to step up and take care of them. My siblings have bent over backwards to make sure that my mother will never have to...

@scout86 ITA. I hate being lied to as well, and I even go out of my way to avoid situations where lying might be necessary. That said, I don't see "I'm fine" as a lie. Rather, it's part of the social grease that helps my day to run (more or less) smoothly. When a coworker says, "Hi. How are...

@sun seeker I've never met anyone, in America or elsewhere, who didn't care whether or not they had a family. Though I hesitate to speak for everyone on this thread, I daresay most of our parents would agree that family matters -- and yet look how they've treated us. Sometimes you have to...

Ok, they're nuts. They're absolutely crazy. Try not to let it rub off on you. Is there a counselor at school that you can talk to? And perhaps that person could in turn drop hints at your parents? Anyone sane knows that you have to take breaks. FWIW, you can still read for pleasure outside the...

If the "work" they expect you to do is study, then maybe you can read something you enjoy and tell them it's part of your schoolwork. Reading helped me survive an abusive childhood and it also made it possible for me to get an excellent education. There are SO MANY good books in the world...

I've gotten to the point where I don't think I'll tell anyone except close friends when my mother dies. People at my job are generally supportive when family members pass away, but I won't want their condolences at that point. The loss already happened. I don't think I ever really had a mother...

So sorry for your loss.

"Phantom itch." What a great way to put it!

Not a bit. I tried for decades to establish healthy relationships with them, if only to avoid getting hurt again. But as Jon Stewart said recently, "You can't outsmart crazy." Do I wish things were different? Absolutely. Am I healed? Of course not. But life throws enough stuff at me, and the...

No words of wisdom. Just here to agree with you. I often feel like my interactions with other people are just a performance, and that I can only be "myself" when I'm alone. Trouble is, "myself" is kind of depressing -- and I'm depressed enough already. When I look at the way I live...

This is my first time posting here. Even though my life on the outside looks completely different from yours, on the inside I can relate to having untrustworthy parental figures, feeling like I've driven (or will drive) away friends, social isolation, etc. I don't have any advice, but I do want...