This article is by Justin Haley Phillips and centers on a woman’s view, but I know from personal experience that men sometimes have to break up with their mothers too. If a parent is so toxic that you can no longer have contact, then you must distance yourself, female or male.
–Thomas Ramey Watson
Phillips writes:
If someone hasn’t experienced a toxic relationship with a parent, their first thought is generally, “But she’s your mother!”
As though giving birth renders a woman infallible…
As though “a mother’s love” is guaranteed selfless and pristine…
As though we should sacrifice our mental and emotional (and perhaps physical) health on the altar of the doting daughter…
Mothers are people, too, and while I love mine dearly, there simply came a time when I needed to set myself apart from her in order to grow.
It was not an easy decision to make.