Anonymous asked this question on 4/16/2000:

Before my mother died many years ago, I purposely distanced myself from her physically and psychologically because she made multiple suicide attempts and I couldn't handle it.

When she died, I was living in Atlanta and she was living in Chicago. She died in February and the last time that I had seen her was at my sister's wedding the previous August. We had been in touch by phone and mail, though.

I have felt guilty about distancing myself since her death, but at the time I made the decision to distance myself, I felt that I was doing it for my mental health. Was I wrong? I know that I can't undo what is already done, but I still feel bad about what I did.

ScreenMentor gave this response on 4/16/2000:

Whether you were right or wrong doesn't matter. You can only do what you can do. You did what you thought was best at the time. Forgive yourself for being human and fallible. We all have to get through our lives from moment to moment. We can only make our decisions based on what we know at the time.

Be gentle with yourself.

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