I'm heartbroken after cutting off my emotionally unavailable mum | The Sun

DEAR DEIDRE: AFTER my mum told me to leave her alone, I have cut off contact with her.

But I don’t know how to explain this to people.

I’m a 33-year-old woman. Mum is 58. She was emotionally unavailable and physically punished me.

Despite that, she is a brilliant mum to my step-siblings – and that causes me great pain. She left my dad years ago and remarried.

My mental health has suffered and her lack of support is heartbreaking.

Every problem gets a personal reply from one of our trained counsellors.

Fill out and submit our easy-to-use and confidential form and the Dear Deidre team will get back to you.

You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page.

DEIDRE SAYS: The stigma of being estranged from your whole family is difficult to explain.

It’s not your fault. People can be genuinely understanding about family estrangement. It’s much more common than you might think.

Try explaining that your family is not in your life and it’s not a subject you like discussing – you don’t have to provide details.

Find understanding through Stand Alone (standalone.org.uk), which supports adults estranged from family.