A Brother, Boundaries, and
Abuse
This
is what I texted to my brother after his repeated texts about vaccines upon
which we profoundly disagree, “I thought we agreed not to talk about this
stuff. Please respect my boundaries around vaccine talk.”
His
response was a barrage of texts, name-calling, wishing me ill-will etc. I
blocked him on text, so I wouldn’t be subject to his abuse. Now should I block
his phone calls? Emails? Forever? How long? I sent him the rest of the money
I’d been “stewarding” for him. In the past he has attacked me with phone calls,
emails, and texts, so I had to block him for a while until things calmed down.
When
I unblocked him, we had some good conversations, but I always felt like I was
being taken hostage or agreeing to communicate with a former abuser. I shared
all this with my sponsor, wrote about it, and shared in meetings about it.
I
read and reread the CoDA “Boundaries” pamphlet. I feel like a frightened child
because my brother is threatening, just like my father used to be. A definite
sign of dysfunctional boundaries. I was flashing back to my menacing father who
intimidated us and had to be right. I feel like my brother has been forcing me
to communicate with him. But then, periodically, he goes off on rants and he
triggers my own rants. I feel like a hostage, like he might do something scary
if I set boundaries, like he will escalate until there is violence.
I
am afraid to set new boundaries because of fear of retaliation. But I will do
what is needed for my CoDA recovery and for my own dignity!
I
feel pretty miserable right now, but I won’t be bullied and frightened into
compliance by my brother or anyone else, so help me God. I feel like I’ve made
a step toward long-term peace and dignity. I’m grateful for CoDA, the
literature, the meetings, and the people in CoDA for giving me direction in
this challenging situation. More will be revealed as I continue to work my
program.
Jim
H - 12/29/21
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