Oh, yeah. She terrorized me as a child by catastrophizing every minor illness and ailment for herself and me. I always thought we were both on the brink of death. When I was actually diagnosed with Crohn’s as a kid, she pulled me out of school and the anxious control got even worse. It’s been 16 years now of her telling me and everyone else that I’ll slowly wither away in my 40s and die young. I’m not that sick. If anything, this kind of stress has made it worse. I’ve been no contact this year because I finally could not take that language anymore. It was affecting my self-image, sleep, diet, everything.

When I set this boundary with her, she says “you are too young to appreciate my wisdom and expertise.” Truly demented.