Mom died 15 years ago and I am trying to figure out what to do with all the emotions that come up during therapy
I (36 years old) started doing therapy this year. It brings up a lot of stuff, mostly going through memories of her emotional neglect, but also seeing more and more her narcisism and remembering some verbal (maybe) and physical abuse.
I think the ways she hurt me were subtle, its hard to figure out, but therapy helps.
I feel like I need closure though. I dont think I would have gone NC if she was still alive. Not because of her, but my brother and dad, they all live together in a house.
Now that she has been dead for so long I still feel like I need some sort of a symbolic way of cutting contact. Especially seeing how I still often hurt myself because of all the repressed anger I have because of her.
What can I do? Does anyone have experience with this? Those of you who cut contact, either with a living parent or in a symbolical way with a dead parent, did you do anything specific to make that work for you?
Posted Apr 1, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC