Dear TheNovaStarr,

I feel for you and I am sorry that you’re in such a difficult spot right now. Your parents were abusive, and if I understood well, your stepmother was a little better than your parents, since they were “extremely abusive” and she was only “borderline abusive”. It appears that while she was alive, you kind of felt included in the family. Have you been living with your dad, your stepmother and your sisters?

But since she passed away, and you’ve moved away to college, your dad and one sister stopped reaching out to you, and your other sister only reaches out rarely. Your own mother got offended when you didn’t want to talk to her every day on the phone after the funeral, and she stopped talking to you too. You now feel completely alone. On top of that, you feel hurt because your stepmother left letters to family members, but she didn’t leave a letter for you. You now feel disappointed and hurt.

Also, you’ve dreamed about college and getting away from home for years, and now that you are there, you also experience rejection and perhaps hostility, since they aren’t welcoming like you thought they would be, and you have to fight over health and meal plans.

Yes, it’s a lot, and you’ve been through a lot in your life. But in spite of it all, you’ve managed to enroll in a college – which is no small thing! So give yourself a pat on the back! You’re a fighter, you’re ambitious, and that’s a great resource.

I understand you feel bad and alone at the moment, but have you tried reaching out to your father and sisters – like you reaching out to them and asking them what’s up, instead of wondering why they’ve stopped contacting you? You started thinking they don’t like you any more and that maybe it has to do with where you stand on the LGBT issues. But maybe it has nothing to do with that. Maybe it’s not true that they don’t like you, but there are other reasons why they aren’t reaching out. Have you clarified that with them?

Also, perhaps you can message your boss and ask him about your job? Maybe you don’t need to wait till he texts you?

When you say “I might have to drop therapy due to financial difficulties directly correlated to step mothers death” – do you mean psychotherapy or therapy for your GERD and IBS problems?