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Mothers of adult daughters...

235 replies

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 16:09

Quick question:

Under what circumstances would you give your daughter the silent treatment/ignore text messages etc?

OP posts:
TorroFerney · 22/03/2025 16:59

Op it is emotional abuse, it's also the sign of someone with very low emotional intelligence. Lindsay Gibson's book children of emotionally immature parents is really good, I'd have a read, it really resonated with me, excitingly I had an an emotionally immature mother and father.

I think the thing is that they train you to fawn and try and get in their good books and you are doing that, the I think i am a decent person comments. She isn't doing it beacuse you aren't a good person , it's not about you,she is doing it because she is stuck in the emotional state of a toddler. You can't control or stop it, you can't control another persons moods.

You need to think what you want to do, I would say leave her til she gets herself out of it, don't pander but that is easier said than done when you have had many years of it.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:00

I am very low contact and my children are never left with her when we are together. I've disengaged as much as possible in order to have a relationship but it's very superficial. I remove myself and/or do lots of greyrock when she starts being weird. I've had counselling and we've agreed that this is the most tolerable way for me to go.

OP posts:
LilyOfTheValleySoon · 22/03/2025 17:02

@Eegokeennow your mum is emotionally abusive.
The examples you’ve just given are astonishing really. None and I really none of them would explain why someone who go NC/give you the silent treatment.

As a guess, this will continue until you apologise?

Appreciate you want to stay in contact with your dad and sibling. The only thing I can think about is to grey rock her all the way. It would still be hugely difficult to maintain all the time. And you’ll still be hurt by her comments.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

LSGXX · 22/03/2025 17:02

Never.

I am so sorry this is happening to you.

What has happened OP?

LilyOfTheValleySoon · 22/03/2025 17:03

Xpost @Eegokeennow

I can only send you loads of courage your way. It can’t be easy.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:03

TorroFerney · 22/03/2025 16:59

Op it is emotional abuse, it's also the sign of someone with very low emotional intelligence. Lindsay Gibson's book children of emotionally immature parents is really good, I'd have a read, it really resonated with me, excitingly I had an an emotionally immature mother and father.

I think the thing is that they train you to fawn and try and get in their good books and you are doing that, the I think i am a decent person comments. She isn't doing it beacuse you aren't a good person , it's not about you,she is doing it because she is stuck in the emotional state of a toddler. You can't control or stop it, you can't control another persons moods.

You need to think what you want to do, I would say leave her til she gets herself out of it, don't pander but that is easier said than done when you have had many years of it.

I've read it 😉😉

It really resonated and gave me a good insight into her behaviour and emotional state.

Things blow up very quickly if my words/actions aren't 100% censored and I know that she wants me to feel the burn by ignoring me. It's stressful because I know the longer I leave it, the worse things will get.

OP posts:
iolaus · 22/03/2025 17:05

My gut reaction was none

But then I also know some people who claim someone is ghosting them and not speaking to them if they don't reply to a text within seconds - there are occasions where they won't get a reply immediately

Lovelynames123 · 22/03/2025 17:05

My dm would never ignore me or give me the silent treatment.

My dds are still teens but I can't see myself ever ignoring them, even now I feel bad if I haven't seen a text and replied straightaway!

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:06

We haven't had a blow up in about 6 years. Honestly I've had my best friend for 30 years and we've never had a bad word spoken between us. My life is very drama free apart from her having a problem with weird stuff and then telling me what a bad person I am.

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 22/03/2025 17:08

My Mum was like this, I had the silent treatment, put downs, constant criticisms for years and years, only when I became a mum myself, did I truly see how unacceptable it was. I knew I could never, ever treat my sons like that, it is abusive and so damaging. I have been NC with my mum for quite some years. No regrets, my life has been much calmer with less drama without her in it.

Mummyoflittledragon · 22/03/2025 17:08

This reply has been deleted

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Your mother is quite extreme. Mine just used to constantly put me down. I tried to do the have things out and move on with mine. It made things 10 times worse. She wasn’t ready to listen and your mum isn’t either.

You can’t make her hear. It would destroy her personal image and she can’t cope with it. This isn’t fair on you of course. However, it really would be useful to really get your head round the fact that she can’t and that you are the strong one. She’s weak. Very weak.

My dd is 16 and I can’t imagine ever wanting to ignore her. It would be a ridiculous thing to do anyway. Dd has anorexia and last year all but stopped eating for a couple of weeks then was on 400/500 calories a day for a while. There is no way on earth I could ever do that to her anyway. But even if I were tempted, keeping her alive would be my no 1 goal, always. The most I would do is to withdraw for a very short while to allow tempers to calm.

The way that I sorted things with my mother was when she really upset me was to refuse to talk to her until she apologised. She rang me, I didn’t enter into discussion, I talked about the incident and said I wanted an apology, drew the conversation round and when it was clear she wouldn’t, I ended the call. Three weeks later I called her and elicited a ‘sorry if’, which for her was mahooosive.

I suspect it would take longer for your mother. However, this is how to change the dynamic. It’s pointless going over old ground. You just pick the current thing, which is really really upsetting you. If you’re going to go this route, I’d probably wait until she said something awful then disengage rather than be when she has disengaged otherwise you’re going to get into a tit for tat.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:08

Also I don't mind saying sorry to people; there's nothing wrong with saying sorry to make amends and build bridges and I'm happy to do what it takes if I annoy someone, which to be honest doesn't happen much (but inevitably does the odd time). I like to take accountability for my part but with her, she sees an apology as an open door to hurl the kitchen sink at me. I really dont want to!

OP posts:
ItsaWarmWind · 22/03/2025 17:09

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 16:09

Quick question:

Under what circumstances would you give your daughter the silent treatment/ignore text messages etc?

Never.

The silent treatment is childish and not one that anyone should indulge in.

Having read your ALL now I do think you should consider asking MNHQ to change your title. It's not clear and implies you are the mother.

JohnTheRevelator · 22/03/2025 17:09

I have a 41 year old daughter, and we're very close. It would have to be something pretty bad for me to give her the silent treatment.

TorroFerney · 22/03/2025 17:10

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:03

I've read it 😉😉

It really resonated and gave me a good insight into her behaviour and emotional state.

Things blow up very quickly if my words/actions aren't 100% censored and I know that she wants me to feel the burn by ignoring me. It's stressful because I know the longer I leave it, the worse things will get.

But, how worse can it get? she isn't going to come round and murder you, you aren't reliant on her for food and safely so hold your nerve op!

Radish81 · 22/03/2025 17:10

It is tragic to see another adult woman twist herself into knots about the appalling treatment of a family member towards them.

Radish81 · 22/03/2025 17:11

You are married OP? Have children? Your work? Have friends and strong relationships

It's stressful because I know the longer I leave it, the worse things will get.

what is the worst she can do? Fuck all

Mummyoflittledragon · 22/03/2025 17:12

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:08

Also I don't mind saying sorry to people; there's nothing wrong with saying sorry to make amends and build bridges and I'm happy to do what it takes if I annoy someone, which to be honest doesn't happen much (but inevitably does the odd time). I like to take accountability for my part but with her, she sees an apology as an open door to hurl the kitchen sink at me. I really dont want to!

Yes, it will be seen as complete capitulation. As @Roselilly36 said, you gain a different perspective when you become a mum. Idk if that is the case for you op. I started raging, really raging when my dd was about 5 months old and it took me a long while to see that my mum didn’t want me, she wanted a human doll.

TorroFerney · 22/03/2025 17:12

Radish81 · 22/03/2025 17:10

It is tragic to see another adult woman twist herself into knots about the appalling treatment of a family member towards them.

But understandable? If you've been groomed for years to accept it you just do and you think it is your responsibility to make it better.

Op what I would say is that it's pointless trying to hold her to account. I'd be grey rocking the heck out of it and just not seeing her a lot.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:13

The character assassinations are her arsenal of choice. If I annoy her, she unleashes it all at me and I'm conditioned to believe my mothers perception of me. Over the past decade I'm seeing myself more objectively but the things she has said to me in the past have been horrible and if you haven't been raised with the threat of being emotionally rejected, abandoned or attacked from childhood onwards, you won't know why it's not possible to extricate yourself from this situation easily.

OP posts:
KaleQueen · 22/03/2025 17:14

Radish81 · 22/03/2025 17:10

It is tragic to see another adult woman twist herself into knots about the appalling treatment of a family member towards them.

Wow.
it’s her mother.
when you have a mother like this is it literally one of the most destabilising things you can experience and trying to navigate it literally does ‘twist you in knots’

i totally get why the op posted that very simple question. It’s mind blowing and you’re just trying to figure out ‘why’ your mother could possibly do that to her own daughter.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:14

Radish81 · 22/03/2025 17:11

You are married OP? Have children? Your work? Have friends and strong relationships

It's stressful because I know the longer I leave it, the worse things will get.

what is the worst she can do? Fuck all

All.of the above, yes.

OP posts:
ShriekingTrespasser · 22/03/2025 17:14

I would only ever go no contact if I had to for my physical or emotional safety.

Eegokeennow · 22/03/2025 17:17

KaleQueen · 22/03/2025 17:14

Wow.
it’s her mother.
when you have a mother like this is it literally one of the most destabilising things you can experience and trying to navigate it literally does ‘twist you in knots’

i totally get why the op posted that very simple question. It’s mind blowing and you’re just trying to figure out ‘why’ your mother could possibly do that to her own daughter.

Thank you for this. I'm going through something monumental and have been gradually realising that my mother doesn't properly love me (which is ok, the truth is liberating but still intense to process).

Post about why don't I just eff her off like she's some annoying work colleague are not helping me at all, even if the poster has kind intentions.

OP posts:
lifeonmars100 · 22/03/2025 17:17

never under any circumstances, if I was really upset about something they had done then I would do my best to calmly express what the issue was and what I was hoping to do to resolve things. I am very far from being a calm and perfect person but having been on the receiving end of silent treatment (my dad did not speak to me on and off for a year when I was aged 15 to 16 and it really damaged me) I would never do it anyone for even a few hours.