Being alive for 45 yrs now, I too confronted my mother about the way she treated me like a human punching bag.........all in the last 2 months calling her on the phone yabbering about my entire life since I was 5-45 yrs of age......and did she realize how this affected me and still does to this date. She kind of shrugs it off as if it never happened. That pains me. IN A BIG WAY. Trying to be the perfect kid - that turned out to be defective........in their minds......and not understanding mental illness. All black and white to many. They just say things like: "pull up your boot straps and pull yourself together" like it's that simple. If there was a miracle cure I would have cured myself 25 yrs ago. Ugh. I have kept my distance in the past month. As we tend to disagree on many things. Her views are very different from my views and recollection of mother/daughter relationship. I hear you all. I can relate. FULLY ! Yes, all of this makes me anxious.