"Sometimes you need permission to be able to let go. I spent my whole life aware of how toxic my mother was and that she was not a healthy influence in my life, but it wasn’t until my doctor in the psych ward told me my new goal was to tell mom she needed to stop calling me on the ward phone so much, as a goal of care to get myself discharged, that I felt like it was ok to start closing off that boundary.

We can feel obligated to our worst influences, especially if social expectations are tied in with it. My life is a much less stressful place to be now that I have embraced the ability to say f@#k that."

sjb2059