Why It’s Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members From Your Life

Written By:

Written By:

Why Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members From Life 2

We get it, your connection with your family is supposed to be this mythical bond that nobody and nothing can break—however, sometimes it’s okay to distance yourself from or cut off toxic family members indefinitely, for the sake of your mental peace and happiness.

You should never compromise your mental, emotional or physical health for the sake of tolerating a toxic family member. Before you start blocking Aunt Susan and your second cousin, it’s important to recognize the signs of a toxic family member.

Related: Toxic Family At Christmas: Dysfunctional Families and the Holidays

5 Signs Of A Toxic Person

1. They’re Judgmental.

Constructive criticism is healthy, but persistent, unwarranted criticism can deteriorate anyone’s self-esteem. And if you have to spend the holidays with a toxic family, then it can take a huge toll on you, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically.

cut off toxic family members

2. They Feed Off Drama.

Have you ever turned to a family member for some personal advice? Yet, somehow after you’ve shared your most vulnerable moments with them—someone you thought was a trusted ally—somehow everyone in your family knows everything about your personal life (including your distant cousin in Hungary, who you’ve never met).

3. They Gaslight You.

If your family member continually claims they never said something, when you and everyone else know they did, it might not seem that serious. However, this is a form of gaslighting, which is highly emotionally abusive behaviour. In such equations, it’s okay to cut toxic family members out of your life.

4. They Only Talk To You When They Need Something From You.

Often, they’ll go to you for advice or emotional comfort. But once you turn to them for support, they dismiss your needs or hold your personal information against you. It’s crucial that you cut ties with family members like these.

5. They Flip-Flop Between Positive And Negative Reinforcement.

They can lash out at you, yell and insult you. However, once you ignore them after this senseless attack, they’ll likely coax you back into their trap by offering you pseudo-praise and support.

Typically these positive interactions are short-lived before this individual goes back to their typical manipulative behaviour.

If anyone in your family displays any of these symptoms of toxic and abusive behaviour, they’re putting your mental health in jeopardy, and the best solution is cutting ties with toxic family members like these.

Cut off toxic family members

Dealing With Toxic Family Members

Alithia Asturrizaga, a licensed clinical social worker at Alithia Psychotherapy Associates, P.C., explains, “I have worked with countless people who have lived their lives dealing with toxic family members and significant others. In fact, this is one of the chief reasons that many people seek therapy.”

Toxic relationships, even with family members, can drain you emotionally, which can impact your overall mental well-being. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t accept this as the status quo.

“There are certain techniques that people can use to make these relationships more tolerable—these methods generally involve distancing yourself to a certain degree from the toxic person. However, in many cases, the best solution is to remove the toxic individual from your life completely.

This is rarely easy and is often complicated and emotionally conflicting in the case of close family relationships, such as with a parent—but when situations deteriorate to the point of making it impossible to live a happy and liberated life, this course of action is usually the best,” Asturrizaga says.

This abusive behavior isn’t confined to romantic relationships because anyone can have a toxic influence on your life.

Related: Ways To Cut The Toxic Emotional Cords of Attachment Which Are Draining You

Shannon Battle, LPC LCAS for the last eight years at Families Services of America, tells Her Campus that the best way to approach a toxic person is first to establish boundaries.

To help stick to these boundaries, Battle suggests, “Anytime you deal with toxicity, understand there is a learning curve. There will be periods of uncertainty, guilt, and possible loss in relationships.

You have to determine the level of sacrifice you are willing to make to protect your emotions and those that trust you to protect them as well. Sometimes, you have to hurt one to help another. The hurt is never intended to be malicious but always done in love and respect. Behaviour is choice-driven.”

Although you might feel an innate impulse to keep your toxic family member in your life, especially if that family member is your parent, it’s important to understand that keeping a toxic person in your life will have damaging effects on your mental health.

It’s Okay If They Don’t Change And It’s More Than Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members

While you might try to convince your family member that what they’re doing is emotionally harmful to you, it’s possible that your family member won’t change—and that’s okay.

Personally, I spent most of my teenage years and a couple of years of my adulthood trying to get my parents to comprehend their emotionally abusive and toxic behaviour.

After finally convincing my mother to go to therapy with me, so my therapist could help her comprehend her abusive behavior (so she could make a positive change), my mother vehemently denounced my therapist’s suggestions and proclaimed that I was the one “who needed help, because [I was] the one who [was] crazy.”

Not only did her statement perpetuate offensive ableist language, but it also contributes to the ignorant stigma that only the “emotionally fragile” need therapy. In reality, everyone can benefit from therapy and counseling.

cut off toxic family members

Before this instance, I’d heard similar phrases from my mother countless times. I told myself that her abhorrent behavior wasn’t worth sacrificing my mental health and emotional well-being because she was obviously never going to change—so I needed to change the situation to protect myself from this abuse.

Initially, I felt worthless because the very person who birthed me refused to change to keep me in her life, but I realized that I couldn’t force her to change.

Nevertheless, it’s okay if the toxic family member in your life never changes. Though you might become obsessed with getting them to change, this obsession can also negatively impact your mental health. Imagining a life where you disassociate from a family member might seem unfathomable, but it’s possible—because you don’t need them.

Even after you distance yourself from that toxic person, it will still take time to recover from that abuse, and that’s okay, too.

Family is a subjective term, so you can form a new family from your supportive friends. Surrounding yourself with supportive people will help you reinforce the positive change that you need in your life.

Related: Deal With A Toxic Family At The Holidays: How To Survive A Toxic Family During The Holidays

While my personal experience with toxic parents might seem like an isolated event, it isn’t. Lori Osachy, MSS, LCSW and director and owner of The Body Image Counseling Center, explains to Her Campus, “Often one of these toxic family members is a parent. It is extremely painful to realize that a toxic parent’s personality is very unlikely to ever change.

The decision to go low or no-contact, and then stick with one’s decision, can be excruciating. On top of that, my clients often do not realize the parent’s behaviour is toxic, so they continue to put up with abusive behaviours.”

It can be a never-ending cycle of abusive behavior until you accept that this behavior is, in fact, harmful and that it won’t change until you distance yourself from this family member.

“The social stigma of needing to ‘honour thy mother and father’ is another stumbling block. Sometimes cutting a parent out of your life is the best decision, but you need enormous support and education to do it successfully and experience relief,” Osachy says.

cut off toxic family members

As someone who’s perfected the art of cutting toxic lovers, friends, and family out of her life, the toxic person in your life might try to gaslight you into thinking that you’re actually the abuser.

They will likely claim that they’ve been victimized because you’re avoiding them, just because they give you a false sense of change or because they’ve made you feel remorse. These are the same abusive tactics they’ve used before, and you shouldn’t backpedal and accept them back into your life.

Related: 11 Ways To Deal With Your Toxic Family During The Holidays

After all, toxicity is noxious, and you don’t need that kind of behaviour to kill your mental health. It’s okay to cut toxic family members out of your life!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to leave a toxic family when they force you to be with them?

Toxic family members make it difficult for you to emotionally separate yourself from them, the best way to start is by establishing boundaries with them.

How to explain to your sibling that they are in a toxic relationship?

It’s painful to see your sibling being taken advantage of. Unfortunately, if you try to warn them, they will react with hostility. The best thing to do is keeping the doors of healthy communication open.

Does life get better when you leave a toxic family?

Toxic family members try to bring you down so when you life them, you rise above them and try to make your life better than what it was.


Cut Off Toxic Family Members Out of Your Life
Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members Pin
Cut off toxic family members pin
Cut off toxic family members pin
Cut off toxic family members out of your life pinop
Cut off toxic family members out of your life pin
Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members From Life
Why It's Okay To Cut Off Toxic Family Members From Life pin
dealing with toxic family members

— Share —

Published On:

Last updated on:

,

— About the Author —

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Up Next

7 Subtle Signs You’re Practically Gentle Parenting Your Partner

Clear Signs You Are Parenting Your Partner: Are You?

Do you find yourself in a relationship where you feel less like you’re with a partner and more like you’re raising a child? Constantly teaching, guiding, and hand-holding can be draining, especially when you’re the one doing all the emotional labor, and parenting your partner. 

If this sounds familiar, below are the signs you might be shouldering too much and why it’s time to rethink this relationship.

Read More Here:

Up Next

Is Your Daughter in a Controlling Relationship? 9 Ways to Help Her Break Free

Daughter in a Controlling Relationship? Things You Can Do

Have you ever had a very strong gut feeling that your daughter might not be in a healthy relationship? Or that she is in a relationship with a controlling boyfriend? Today we are going to talk about what you can do, when you have a daughter in a controlling relationship.

Yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow. Bossy boyfriends sneakily isolate, manipulate and dim the light in the people they date. And if your daughter is dating someone like this, then it’s understandable how tough it can be to watch that.

However, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel – as her mother, you can help her break free from her controlling boyfriend. This isn’t about swooping in like a superhero; it’s about being smart, supportive, and steady.

First, let’s start with trying to understand who a controlling boyfriend

Up Next

8 Myths About Gaslighting Exposed: What You Really Need to Know

Myths About Gaslighting Exposed: What You Really Need to Know

Gaslighting is often misunderstood, and myths about gaslighting only adds to the confusion. Understanding this and trying to break down the most common misconceptions can help us uncover the truth about this manipulative behavior.

KEY POINTS

There’s a difference between casual phrases and patterns of manipulative behavior.

Gaslighting can have serious consequences and leave emotional and psychological pain.

Recognizing gaslighters can save you a lot of emotional pain and doubt.

It’s concerning how certain psychological terms can quickly become f

Up Next

6 Phases Of A Relationship With A Narcissist: The Emotional Rollercoaster

Relationship With A Narcissist Phases Of The Toxic Cycle

Being in a relationship with a narcissist can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, with each phase presenting new challenges and realizations. These phases of a narcissistic relationship leave you questioning your self-worth. Understanding these stages can help you navigate the ups and downs of a narcissistic relationship more effectively.

KEY POINTS

Narcissists may manipulate through observation and charm, creating a false sense of bonding.

These relationships have distinct phases, often involving a gradual, potentially traumatizing end.

Understanding these phases aids in healing and setting boundaries.

Up Next

8 Signs of a Petty Person That’ll Have You Saying, “Wait, Really?”

Signs of Petty Person Thatll Have You Saying Wait Really

Do you ever get that feeling that you are the lead actor in a soap opera you didn’t sign up for? Do you think you are dealing with someone who is petty, by any chance?The signs of a petty person aren’t always neon-lit, but once you spot them, you’ll wonder how you missed it.

From holding grudges longer than your Netflix subscription to being the Sherlock Holmes of social media stalking, petty people have a unique way of spicing up life (not always in a good way).

So how do you know you’re dealing with petty people? Let’s break it down and start with trying to understand who is a petty person.

Related:

Up Next

Othello Syndrome: 7 Signs of Extreme Jealousy In A Relationship

Signs Of Othello Syndrome in Relationship

A small amount of jealousy is normal in any relationship. Some find it an indication of love, but there exists a deeper, more intense feeling that can disrupt peace of mind: Othello Syndrome. 

Some may experience a sinking feeling in their stomach when their partner spends time with their friends, despite assurances. They find themselves obsessively checking their partner’s phone or social media accounts.

So, What Is Othello Syndrome?

This psychiatric condition is a form of morbid or pathological jealousy that can dominate thoughts and actions. It leads a person to make repeated accusations on their partner or spouse, believing that they’re cheating on them, base

Up Next

Feeling Exhausted? 8 Signs of an Emotionally Draining Person to Look Out For

Signs of an Emotionally Draining Person to Look Out For

Have you ever hung out with someone and have left feeling like you just ran a 5k marathon without moving an inch? If you’re nodding along, this is just one of the many signs of an emotionally draining person.

These energy vampires are really talented when it comes to mentally exhausting you, even though you didn’t do anything but have a simple conversation.

Have there been times where you have felt completely wiped after a chat or hangout? Then maybe it’s time to figure out if you’re dealing with an emotionally draining person.

Today, we are going to talk about what is an emotionally draining person, the traits of an emotionally draining person and how to deal with an emotionally draining person.

Let’s start with what is an emotionally draining