ebot21

i get so angry being on the phone with my parents . with my father who is an alcoholic . and my mother who what it looks like is trying to become an alcoholic. they make it entirely impossible to call home and have a real conversation with them. my mother doesnt remember anythign she says to me from previous phone calls. my father is always yelling in the background about nonsense. and its just chaos and they instigate eachother. its so upsetting to have my mother call me and tell me shes angry because she met my dad at the bar after work and they didnt offer her a drink after 4 drinks but offered my dad another drink even tho he has been there for the past 7 hours. its just sad. and i let it get to me so dang much. it just hurts.

mbucek

I have had the same situations. It does hurt. You have options, though. One of those is to detach. I quit speaking with my parents almost 4 months ago and I have to tell you - every single thing about my life has changed for the better. Just remember, you are in control of your feelings and yourself. Do not give them the power. It's hard, but it's true.

GingerM

It does hurt. I've learned that there are certain times of the day when it's best just to let my parents' call go to voicemail, because nothing good can come of a conversation that happens in the evening. I try to call at times when they are least likely to be completely sloshed.

In other words, I only answer the phone when I believe I have the energy to withstand the maelstrom, and I try to call them frequently enough that they don't feel the need to call me.