Toxic Family Members

Just because we forgive people does not mean we are bound to be around them if they are evil. From Odyssey:

Removing yourself from a toxic relationship with a family member is hard. There are no instructions to walking away and letting go of a toxic person, but it's a worthy process to pursue your own happiness and fixing the internal damage which emotional abuse inflicts. Having a toxic family member who constantly takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride on a regular basis leaves you with a range of conflicting feelings like confusion, obligation, pain, guilt, betrayal, anger, and grief. Taking the next step of letting go of family is incredibly hard, guilt-riddling, and takes a tremendous amount of courage. A family member will take advantage of the fact that you are family – a bond that is supposed to be enduring, loving, and respectful – to manipulate and hurt you because they know you will find it very hard to remove yourself because you are family. (Read more.)