Dear pika:

The best thing you can do — and I speak from experience — is distance yourself from the abuse.

She is not a positive influence. Find the positive influences. Be careful…You don’t want to try and marry to get away from her. It tried that and that was disaster number 1. I married a man abusive like her. And I couldn’t take it.

You should get a career going and rebuild your self esteem.

Worry about yourself first. You can’t save the world until you saved yourself…And the first step is recognizing that she has abused you and you need to heal from this void somehow.

Nope, in my case, she never changed, this mother of mine. But I now recognize the damage she has inflicted by controlling it all — my love life, my career, my happiness.

It only stops when I stop allowing it! You have the power. Get through school first and start rebelling against her authority. Don’t go nuts. But do what makes YOU happy. And share nothing with her. She’ll just browbeat it out of you. To be successful in this world, you have to decide the right avenue for you and then get started up that street!!!