I’ve been thinking a lot lately about trauma. The word has recently become more mainstream, and while it may be overused or used incorrectly at times, it’s a word people, like me, can use to describe experiences they went through and the everlasting effects. I had a traumatic childhood.

Estrangement can shape our inner world in ways that can be hard to describe, sometimes it feels loud with thoughts circling, emotions rising, a kind of internal noise that doesn’t quite settle. At other times it can feel very quiet, a flatness, a sense of disconnection, like everything has gone a bit distant and there is this humming sound of longing and loss in the background.

This month, the advice columnist addresses how to handle conversations about your estrangement with other people in your social circle.

This month, the advice columnist explores a decision-making process for reconnecting with a dying family member.

My father-in-law recently passed, and while it was not unexpected, the complicated tangle of emotions I felt after he passed was surprising to me. I had written a post last year entitled “Estrangement and In-Laws” which detailed the difficulties I experienced creating a relationship with parental-type figures while estranged from my own parents.

This month, the advice columnist answers a question about siblings and estrangement.

There is often something deeply vulnerable in sharing our voice, not just the words we speak but the sound of us; A breath that carries a note, the lift in our chest when we feel seen and heard, reverberations in the bones when we are able to let something out that’s been held in for too long.

I have been estranged from my family for almost a decade. During that time, many life-altering decisions have been made that have shaped the person I presently am, and the life I have chosen to lead. One of the biggest events that has happened during my period of estrangement is that I now have children.

I have been completely estranged from my entire family for many years, and I’m getting more comfortable sharing that with closer friends, colleagues, and even strangers. More often than not, it is someone I am meeting for the first time who asks questions about my family in an attempt at polite conversation.

Certain practices arrive in our lives at moments when we may least expect them but may really need them, those little anchors during times of overwhelm, transition, or heartbreak. For me, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) tapping first showed up about twelve years ago during a season of life that was very challenging, uncertain and painful.

There are very observable patterns in the estrangement standoff between adult children and estranged parents that are reflected and reinforced in the cultural narrative.

“I miss my mom.” I’ve noticed that this sentence makes an appearance in my thoughts more than I care to admit. Sometimes it’s not surprising, like when I’m having a difficult day and my nerves and patience are worn thin. I start craving that support, understanding, validation, and love that only a mother can provide.

An exploration of the ripple effects of estrangement and how disenfranchised grief compounds and impacts the experience

Anger is a vital and informative emotion, especially in healing, but it is often weaponized against the estranged and the estranged community

A vignette of pervasive family dysfunction illuminating the "death by a 1,000 cuts" experience that can lead to estrangement.

This month, the advice columnist answers a question about loneliness and finding new connections.

An exploration of "mother hunger" and disenfranchised grief

This month, the advice columnist answers a question about sibling relationships, clear communication, and family ties across generations.

This month, the advice columnist answers a question about walking away, unexpected losses, and making space for sorrow and for healing.

The impact of conversations denied, distorted or delayed and the misalignment of values.