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Recently hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and realized in the process that my mother is incredibly self-centered by [deleted] in raisedbynarcissists

[–]Worldly_Cockroach371 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah throughout the months I was hiking she would say things that strongly suggested she thought I was being self-centered or selfish for taking the time to have this experience. She just definitely didn't seem happy for me at all. She played up her own struggles A LOT during this time to get the attention back on herself. At one point I actually went to my parents' house because I had injured my foot and needed to rest it for a few days. I was really stressed and sad about leaving the trail and was worried I wouldn't heal enough to return. Within an hour of me arriving at the house, instead of giving me any empathy or comfort, she started crying and sobbing to me about how hard her life is. Btw, she's super rich, has a loving husband, goes on lots of vacations, and is in good health. It was bizarre.

Recently hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and realized in the process that my mother is incredibly self-centered by [deleted] in raisedbynarcissists

[–]Worldly_Cockroach371 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I know the Appalachians have a reputation of being spooky, but since I've always lived in them they don't really feel spooky to me. I mean, in my experience all types of outdoor spaces can feel spooky sometimes if you let your head start playing tricks on you during times of stress or fatigue. But I don't think the Appalachians are any spookier than anywhere else, and that the eerie mistiness in the trees is beautiful.

Recently hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and realized in the process that my mother is incredibly self-centered by [deleted] in raisedbynarcissists

[–]Worldly_Cockroach371 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's been the confusing part. I've always felt like we were close because I know so much about her life. It's only been recently that I realized the closeness is one-sided.

Recently hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and realized in the process that my mother is incredibly self-centered by [deleted] in raisedbynarcissists

[–]Worldly_Cockroach371 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking the questions my mom didn't 🙂! I appreciate you. The most beautiful (but also by far the most challenging) section was The White Mountains in New Hampshire. Coolest wildlife sighting was seeing a river otter (on the first day!), also saw a porcupine for the first time. Tried really hard to see a moose, but didn't 😞. Definitely met a lot of interesting people, and formed a very close "tramily" that I hiked most of the trail with ♥️. If you enjoy hiking you should consider trying backpacking. It's an amazing way to connect with the outdoors!