r/CPTSD•
crazy4u753

Mother wrote article about me in local paper - recourse?

Question

Last year, my mother had the local paper write up an article about me. I had recently graduated, and she talked about my life in the town and the eventual culmination to my graduation. Problem is, I graduated with a bachelors at nearly 30. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not something I necessarily ever wanted to draw attention to. The article jumps around, mentioning my elementary school experience, various people from the community who “inspired” me (my 1st grade teacher, scout leader….). Clearly all the details she remembers from when I was still an obedient, good child. Nothing much about my troubling teen years. Of course, if I asked her today what I graduated in, she couldn’t tell me. I don’t even know that she knows the name of my university. Didn’t mention my published research at all either. Mostly just a “my kid is better than yours” article.

I grew up in a very close community, this article was likely read by plenty of people I know. Exes, childhood friends, neighbours. It’s humiliating. Worst off, it appears in Google when you look me up, pushing actual relevant content (like my research) onto the second page. So it’s now “following me” even a year after publication.

Is there something I can do about this? I didn’t consent for my picture or name to be used in the article, and while the content is “positive”, I’m sure people here can understand how it makes me feel.

Posted Dec 3, 2025, 2:00 AM UTC

7110
Loading comments…