Begin the process of forming a trusting relationship with a therapist and create a ‘chosen family’ with friends who care about and respect you
The question My parents are both deceased. I have an older brother and neither of us have partners or kids. From when we were very young all the way through to adulthood, my brother regularly beat me up. My parents saw nothing sinister in it and said it was just normal rough play between boys, but I strongly disagreed. Eventually, the physical abuse stopped, but emotional abuse continued and he criticised everything about me, including my appearance, what I was doing with my life, and my partners. My parents never challenged him and even suggested I deserved it.
After my parents died, my brother was adamant he wanted a continued relationship with me. He has no partner or family of his own and has never sought one. The one-way flow of criticism in our relationship did not stop, so eventually I ceased all contact with him.
