You have to take care of yourself. If people in your life are consistantly toxic then maybe it's better if they aren't part of your life.

You very well may need to 'cut people' out of your life ... it's up to you to decide.

My advice though is to not let anger motivate your decisions. Often does not work out well.

Thanks Kelley.

And very wise words, indeed, Wandering Vet. I thank you. I didn't come to my decision lightly. It comes from years and years of emotional slaps in the face from being told that my mom wanted to abort me when she found out she was pregnant with (oh, how often I wish that she had) to being frozen out at family functions.

I always knew I would be alone, and frankly ache from loneliness is much more appealing than ache from being figuratively smacked across the face from those who are supposed to love you.

I feel better without my extended family in my life. I think I miss the image of what a mother should be like. Not the mother I have. You need to take care of yourself. It sounds like you have taken some time to decide what you needed to do. Anger is part of the process that leads to healing. I think it is okay to be angry.

Recently I have been going though the same process. Most of my life I've let people push me around and use me as their punching bag. As soon as I fight back and say "I'm not going to let you treat me that way" they believe something is wrong with me. As with the last two post, my Mother is not very nice and I'm just about ready to give up on her also. I'm sick of the toxic feelings she creates.

Back to you. I do not see any harm in cutting people out who do not treat you with love and respect. It may get lonely for a while, but in the end it is probably best to remove them from your life.

I agree. It is important to keep your sanity. I have been doing the same thing. I need to cut more, but I need to do it in a way that actually makes me feel better. I try very hard not to be angry. When I finally do get rid of people I do my best to forgive them. I may not ever want them around me anymore, but being able to forgive has really helped me not be so angry all the time.

When I was a teenager I had a very very short fuse. Over the years I have pulled that in. I still get mad. However, I try to stay constructive. In many ways anger can be as bad if not worse than depression. Anger puts a lot of stress on the body. Can even be fatal. It certainly won't help with depressed feelings.

I know it's hard to not be angry at people in your life. Struggling with family is very common. I still struggle with mine. I'm hoping you can resolve everything you need to resolve. Try figuring out a way to cut some angry feelings out. It may help. Don't make yourself too lonely.