A friend pointed out to me that she chooses not to hold grudges. Asking her why, she said to me that it takes an inordinate amount of energy in doing so. This got me thinking about how we differ from our sibling-s when it comes to fluidity versus rigidity in patterns in thinking. And howContinue reading “When Hurt Becomes Certainty: Understanding Psychological Rigidity in Sibling Estrangement “
Tag Archives: #sibling
Mature Defense Mechanisms and Sibling Estrangement
In my last article, I talked about ego defense mechanisms, and how these can play out with siblings that exhibit these primitive and neurotic strategies. As we’ve seen, these are unhealthy expressions of the ego, which leave us hurt or bewildered. Here, we’ll be looking at what mature defense mechanisms can look like, and howContinue reading “Mature Defense Mechanisms and Sibling Estrangement”
The “Almost” Sibling Relationship
Estrangement happens in degrees. Contrary to what some people may think, it’s more than about simply being estranged or not. It can be wildly confusing when you may still be talking with your sibling, yet feel there is something missing. Perhaps it’s certain subjects that are off limits, or an emotional depth that you somehowContinue reading “The “Almost” Sibling Relationship”
Acknowledgment and Sibling Estrangement
As more and more of us start to name and understand sibling estrangement, we start to see the underlying elements that create suffering for us. These can include rumination, the lack of answers, the rejection of who we are, or the hijacking of a narrative about us within the family system that is false, justContinue reading “Acknowledgment and Sibling Estrangement”
Sibling Estrangement 