Family estrangement is something we haven’t discussed on The Ladies Coach. So many of my ladies have been affected by estrangement in some way. In fact, millions of people all over the world are estranged from their families.
Whether it was your choice to disconnect or someone you love chose to disconnect it can ultimately feel like a gaping hole in your soul.
I thought it was the time I shined some light on this as it could be hard, specifically if you aren’t sure WHY your loved one chose to estrange themselves.
“How do you cope when a sibling decides to completely cut themselves out of your life for over a decade without so much as a word, and you don’t know why?”
Estrangement happens for a multitude of reasons and usually goes without being talked about.
So many people believe that estrangement only happens in dysfunctional families, but that’s just not true. There’s so many dynamics, personalities, past stories, and conflicts that play into families to make estrangement a black or white issue.
Some celebrities have opened up about their experiences with estrangement. Some of whom you’d never guess was going through family estrangement.
Anyone from Ariel Winter (Modern Family) who emancipated herself from her mother at an early age because of physical and emotional abuse.
Jennifer Aniston being estranged from her mother for over a decade before her mother’s death. Drew Barrymore who also emancipated herself from her mother at 14, talks about her love/struggle with her mother.
Advice for Anyone Dealing with Family Estrangement:
… Hmmm… it seems like there’s a lot of mommy struggles. Should “Mother/Daughter Relationships” be our next topic? I think so.
Adele, Kate Hudson Angelina Jolie, all of whom were estranged from their father, and the list goes on and on.
My point is that this is happening in a lot of families, again for a multitude of reasons. But what can you do about if you want to reconnect?
That’s something we will discuss in today’s video, but before we do, I think it’s important that we know that not all estrangements are bad. It might be the best situation for families who just can’t seem to understand or respect each other.
We place so much emphasis on blood being thicker than water, that we lose sight of what actually matters. How can you love someone you don’t respect? You can’t.
Yet, this belief that you have to you always be loyal to family keeps us around people who make life harder. If you have a beautiful relationship, that’s great! I’m certainly thankful for my family but we need to expand the scope of our relationships and to do that, we need to take a look at the belief systems we are attached to that are keeping us suffering in family dynamics that don’t work for us.
I hope you enjoy today’s video and if you are in an estranged family dynamic, this video will hopefully help you gain a little peace.
Mel Swatten SAYS:
I’m sure this was written for me! Thank you so much, Christal. I truly appreciate you!