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Mailbag XXXIV: When Every Conversation Becomes a Trial | Difficult Mothers, Eric Berne, Games People Play, Transactional Analysis, Family Conflict, Boundaries, Widowhood, and The Cost of the Move
In this Mailbag installment of The Observable Unknown, Dr. Juan Carlos Rey responds to Suzanne L., a listener who feels trapped in a painful and repetitive relationship with her widowed mother.
Suzanne describes her mother as negative, critical, pessimistic, and frequently insulting. Their conversations return to old grievances, her husband becomes a target, and her children appear to receive less affection than their cousins. Suzanne has repeatedly tried to understand the subjects that matter to her mother, yet every attempt seems to end in criticism, defensiveness, or emotional exhaustion…
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