Does anyone else have problems with their family?

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AJ89
Deinonychus
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18 Dec 2012, 1:44 pm

Let me start off by saying that the only people in my family who I am close with are my parents and one of my sisters.

I have two sisters and the other one who I'm not close with has pretty much shut me from her life. She is 5 years older than me so she was not around for a large part of my life as she moved away from home when I was 15 years old. Anyway, since then I've asked if I could visit her since it's been 8 years where I have barely seen her and she always ignores me. Recently, she gave birth to a daughter and she still ignores any of my requests to go see her and her daughter. At this point I am very angry at her and I don't even want to visit her any more. If she doesn't even want me to visit her and see her baby, then I'm fine with not ever actually doing that.

Now there's my extended family. I am an atheist and my entire family consists of evangelical Christians. My uncle knows I am an atheist and he is rude and completely shuts me out of his life. Some examples, he will get some chocolate as a gift and will ask everyone if he wants some of it but ignores me. Another example is when I ask him to see photos of his vacations and he refuses to let me see them but will gladly show them to other members of my family. The only time he acknowledges my existence is when he wants to vent his anger out at someone or when he tries to convert me back to Christianity. Yeah, like treating me poorly is going make me do that for you.
He knows that I have Aspergers.

My grandparents are also the same way. They only talk to me if they want me to do something for them. I don't really care if I'm that close with my grandparents but they treat me just like my uncle does. I have other uncles and aunts who also treat me the same way and my cousins are the same way too.

As far as I'm aware, they mean nothing to me because they sure as hell haven't given a damn about me.



KagamineLen
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18 Dec 2012, 5:31 pm

People are going to do what they are going to do. It is not your fault.

I consider my circle of friends to be more like a family to me than my own blood. I still go to family gatherings where people try to bait and humiliate me, but now I know that I am my own man. I take better care of myself now than what my family managed when they were raising me. I owe nothing to my diseased blood ties, and you owe nothing to your's.



thepurplefire13
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25 Dec 2012, 5:41 pm

please read my entire comment. I am a devout but nontraditional Christian (not affiliated w. any church and look at the Bible in a different way). If your family treats you with disregard and contempt because they're Christian and you're atheist....they're practicing their own religion wrong. Christ's second most important command was to love one's neighbor (anybody of any gender, race, religion, anything different or similar to oneself).You don't owe them a thing. If they reject you for being who you are, you have no obligation to even be close to them or go to see them during the holidays.



Vectorspace
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25 Dec 2012, 6:19 pm

Exactly. It's not your job to make your family happy. But I can understand that the rejection hurts you.

Concerning your question in the thread title: Yes, but my problems are quite the opposite.
There is one person in my family that I absolutely don't like. There wouldn't be a problem if she just stopped talking to me. Even though I avoid any kind of contact to her, she bothers me all the time.
Fortunately, I don't see her so often any more, but it's a bit sad that she separates me from the rest of my family.



soulburner
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26 Dec 2012, 7:43 pm

i have issues with my family. i dont talk to any of them but my sister does and i hate it. im a christian but i dont go to church. i respect your choice in belief and your family should be more accepting. if you have friends, then they can be the family you deserve.