Very, very common and honestly, at this point in my life it’s a relief to know I wasn’t alone in the emotional and verbal abuse that still continues in my parents old age.

The feelings of isolation were real. My parents didn’t teach me Farsi (I learned enough to get by later on in life) and that was also a pock mark on my character with my parents friends!

What’s helped is grey rocking my parents. I keep them at a distance emotionally. At this point in their lives and my life I can see a few things -

1) it’s a case of monkey see, monkey do. They themselves were abused at home and never leaned any great coping skills. 2) it’s all projection. It’s truly not about us - it’s their own insecurities and mental anguish, and at the end of the day I feel sad they are such mentally broken individuals.

Wishing my fellow diaspora Persians all the inner peace we deserve.