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My parent has been very mean to me lately. I don’t know what to do with all my stress. What should I do?

6 Answers
Last Updated: 03/28/2022 at 3:04pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Stacey Kiger, LPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

My belief is that therapy is not about giving advice, but joining you on your journey

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
July 28th, 2020 12:49am
Talk to them seperately, ask them what the thing that you can do to bring the peace to thier mind? If something you can do, then do it, if you cant, explain politely how this is not in your ability for the time being, and keep respectful , this will difinitely change thier opinion toward you.Talk to them seperately, ask them what the thing that you can do to bring the peace to thier mind? If something you can do, then do it, if you cant, explain politely how this is not in your ability for the time being
Anonymous
August 1st, 2020 5:24pm
They are children themselves, sorting their own wounds and dysfunctions. In many ways it is children raising children and not infrequently the children must become the mature person and raise above the craziness. I wish you fortitude to know that they are only human, and flawed. Sift through what you are told and keep the good and discard the bad. When a kid is young, they can’t decide many things or themselves so parents do it for them (paternalistically) for their own good. If parents were sufficiently respectful to the kid, they act as the child would decide for themselves when they had enough experience and smarts to make their own decisions. This is something very different. People don’t get to decide for other people what is “For their own good,” what’s in their “best interest.” We decide for ourselves what our legitimate interests are. That’s what parents decide for themselves. Sometimes parents can’t get it in their head that at a certain age kids are at least starting to know what they want and have good reasons for it. They can not give up a sense of authority over the child, thinking it’s their place to decide for her/him “While you’re still under my rook young lady/man.” On the other hand, kids think they know what they’re doing fine before they really do. They see parental denial of what they want to as the authoritarian incursion of ogres on their proper liberty and merited self-determination. This only reassures the parent that their kid is not ready to make her/his own decision. We should be more mindful of the dilemma each side faces. Parents are scared for their kids. They’re afraid of not being responsible and wise enough as a parent. Too scared and afraid. They’re often worried about finances too—with kids spending like this can I keep the family afloat, have enough savings, enough for a college fund. Science is somewhat on their side on the danger matter. Teens experience greater development in brain areas interested in adventure, taking on risks, than those of prudence and caution. They have a certain sense of invulnerability, So left to their own devices, even if they’re aware, smart as a whip, and able to make a good argument for doing X or Y, their judgment may be off. It’s likely to be off in a perilous way on some matters. Still parents over-estimate risk from their side as well, out of concern. They don’t distinguish supervision over dangers from just supervision, not needed, not fair. My wife and I were rare parents, anarchist parents for the most part. We tried to model sensibleness, level-headedness, always thinking out what we did, why we interacted with our kids, along with them. We didn’t deny anything, but spoke about how we would see them, especially if we were in the kids’ place. I was stunned by how much things made sense from their perspective which I thought were just crazy and spendthrift from mine. We tried to provide better, more fun options for our kids to do than options that seemed reckless or a bad value to us. Otherwise, we let our kids make their own decision and even pushed them to be self-determining even when they thought they couldn’t. “Dad, I’m only a 7 year old kid? How can you ask me to do that?” or “Why did you let me watch Jurassic Park, I had nightmares about it.” “Well Emma, everyone has nightmares. Because we let the kids do things none of the parents did, we were not admired for our approach. But the thing is, our kids learned to be self-determining much earlier and much better. They became unusually well-behaved because they knew the reasons to do so. But they conformed less because they saw no reason to. Teacher’s conference: Teacher: “Your kid is magnificent, he helps the other kids, he’s so popular, cooperative, admired, a real leader…blah, blah, blah. The only problem is he asked for a reason for just about everything I tell the class to do when he disagrees with it.” Me: “That’s a problem? Don’t you have a good reasons?” I suspect that partly because our kids got anything they asked for they never ever called us mean. That would be hilarious to suggest to them. But more important, they almost never asked for anything. They had to much freedom and respect to ask for mere things. Is that you? You rarely ask for anything? You rarely ask to do anything unless it makes a lot of sense and is inexpensive?
Rebekah
August 2nd, 2020 4:26pm
I'm really sorry to hear that your parent has been mean to you recently. It can be really hard for us to cope with negativity from family. Perhaps you could try to vent to a trusted adult, a close friend, or even connect with a listener on 7 Cups. Stress can be a very difficult thing to cope with, and it's really brave to reach out. If it is something that you actively want to sort out/reduce, talking about it to a listener here could be of some help, or even just reviewing the 7 Cups "Family Stress" self-help guide.
theBenevolentPug
August 3rd, 2020 2:26am
I feel your pain. Parents can be tough. When parents are constantly mean, it can carry on to the point where you feel anxious being around them. That happened to me and it scared me. I decided to talk to my mom about it and the effect her comments had on me. It was late at night and they say people are more honest at night, so it really helped. We talked about how criticism was only for improvement and she apologized for making me feel so stressed out. Your stress is only a response to being called on. You hate messing up and want only to improve, but it gets hard when almost everything you do is wrong. I know, because that is exactly how I felt. Trust yourself and your capabilities. Believe that you are a good person because you are. Some people just don't care, but you do, and that counts. I hope this answer was helpful and that things get better. If you ever need to talk about it, don't hesitate to reach out!
silverHeart49
August 5th, 2020 6:32pm
Hello, I know how difficult it is when our parents are making us feel rubbish and stressed. Remember to stop, take a breath and remember that is it not your fault. In terms of your stress, you should 100% build up a bank of coping skills, fidget toys, breathing exercises, mindfulleness, journaling, anything that you want. Remember to practice your coping skills when you are not stressed so that they become normal and therefore easier to do when you are feeling a little stressed. Now, I know its easy for me to say, but try having a chat with your parents about how they are making you feel. If you talk to them in a grown up, respectful and polite way I am sure they will be willing to listen to you. Remember, it is a bad day, month or year, but it is not a bad life! Good luck, I hope things get better and you feel a little better. Take some time for you! :)
CallMeSavvy
March 28th, 2022 3:04pm
firstly you should try to figure out and understand why your parent may be acting differently. is there something causing them to act this way, such as stress or anxiety? then you should try talking to them about it. explain to them how they are making you feel and what they are doing to make you feel that way. They may or may not be receptive to this and change their behavior. if this is the case, you should try to distance yourself as much as possible. make sure to practice self care and stress relieving tactics for yourself, and if you feel you may be in physical danger or if you are being abused, reach out to any 7 cups listener who can help provide you with resources to help you. best of luck!