I know how you feel, TheNightWhistle. My mother was very overbearing and domineering to me -- even still is now and she's 78 years old. I live with her temporarily, and I have to grab the tv remote off her coffee table and mute it, when I need to talk to her or she will leave the volume up so loud that airline jet pilots flying 35,000 feet above us could hear it.

I never share ANYTHING personal with my mother anymore about my life (last time was 26 years old) b/c she would always criticize me or make a snarky comment and not apologize when I told her my feelings were hurt. Now, when she asks me how my day was, I don't give her any details and just respond with "fine, thanks."

My advice is to shift the way that you interact with your mother now -- about what you share with her and how you respond to her texts and phone calls about everything -- which is a hard transition to make, but it will save your sanity and create boundaries that your mother won't be able to trod upon anymore. The benefit of not telling my mother anything anymore, is that she doesn't get to push my buttons or trigger me the way I used to let her when I was open with her about my life.

Now, I control the information she knows, and I feel like that gives me more control over how she is allowed to treat me. Does that make sense? Don't share any personal information about your dating life, your work life, or whatever you know will trigger your mother's criticism and judgement.

Take back control of the mother-son dynamic and show her that you don't need her approval of your choices in life anymore. Stay on a trivial, superficial level with her. Avoid politics (I always do) and talk about movies and celebrities. Or the weather. But keep all the personal stuff out of your conversation and if she pushes you, redirect her to something superficial.

Don't compare your situation to anyone else's. A toxic parent is a toxic parent. There may be varying levels of toxicity, but believe me, we can all support each other and share our stories in support of each other. That's what this forum is for.