When someone is consistently mean to you, and you say "if you keep being mean to me, we might have to break up," may I humbly suggest that you are not The Problem.
Category: emotional abuse
#1382: “My mum won’t accept anything I tell her unless it’s been ‘fact-checked’ by my brother or my dad.”
Bold of your mom to set herself up as the sole arbiter of your life circumstances, Letter Writer!
#1366: “Malicious, controlling mother-in-law wants to move in”
Ultimatums are scary for a reason: Sometimes people force you to follow through on them.
#1358: GUEST POST: “I think my professors $#@%-ed me up.”
Thriller author Amy Gentry answers this letter about abusive professors who feed like vampires on the potential of their students.
#1298: “Could my adult friend have been grooming me for years?”
The subject line says it all, for content warning purposes, though if it helps: The Letter Writer sent the person packing and it was not a *successful* grooming attempt.
Update for #1208: “Question about Mom-friends being Too….’Mothering.'”
Once upon a time, a kind reader wrote in for advice about her friend, "Mary." Mary just cared about the Letter Writer SO MUCH, you see, that she felt entitled to advise her on any and all of life's challenges, kiss her on the top of the head, take over in the kitchen, recount a … Continue reading Update for #1208: “Question about Mom-friends being Too….’Mothering.'”
#1297: My friends had a huge falling-out with my wife. Can we ever be friends again?
Content note for mention of suicidal ideation, and reminder that roommate fights are for "It's your turn to buy toilet paper," not "It actually oppresses me when your face does that." Dear Captain Awkward, I have a question about reconciling with friends when everyone involved has made mistakes. Sorry this is so long... My wife … Continue reading #1297: My friends had a huge falling-out with my wife. Can we ever be friends again?
#1295: “Is my boyfriend a jerk or am I just Too Sensitive?”
#ThisFuckingGuy, again.
#1280: “Am I a terrible daughter for moving out and leaving my mom to care for my grandma?”
Hi Captain, I'm the youngest kid in a South Asian family. I've lived with my parents for four years because I have a career in the arts and have only recently started to earn enough money to pay rent and also, like, eat. I've also stayed with them this long because my frail grandma lives … Continue reading #1280: “Am I a terrible daughter for moving out and leaving my mom to care for my grandma?”
#1277: “Abuse, agency, and the limits of advice.”
Behind a cut for mention of physical and emotional abuse of adult children by parents as well as some frustrations and victim-blaming attitudes that are common in friends and support networks of people who are embroiled in abusive situations. Abusers ruin everything, pretty much. Dear Captain Awkward, I (31, nb, he/him) have a friend who … Continue reading #1277: “Abuse, agency, and the limits of advice.”
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