I ( 25f ) have had PTSD, anxiety, and abandonment issues since I was seven. So when I was welcomed into a friend group, I kinda thought it’d be a safe space, I was wrong. In the fg, there were three girls, we’ll call them A ( 21f ), L ( 19f ), P ( 22f ), and R ( 20f ). After a few months into into my friendships with these girls, I started opening up about my trauma, abandonment issues, and anxiety, they were really open-minded, especially R, I started thinking that I was closest with her, despite A being my cousin. One day my anxiety was rlly acting up, but I had plans with the girls, and I didn’t wanna back out at the last second. So I showed up to P’s house, and immediately they knew something was up with me. They kept trying to get me to open up about it, despite my protests. " Come on! Tell us. I thought you trusted us.." L said, " Soph, I’m your cousin, you can trust me." A said next. They kept trying to get me to open up, then they started making digs at my trauma, and stuff my dad said to me before he left. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore, and I left. All day after that, they kept blowing up my phone in this GC we had. I didn’t really pay attention to any of the messages, except one that A, my cousin sent. " If your dads in jail, did he really even leave you and your brother? Make it make sense, girl ". That message broke me. I hadn’t even told the rest of the girls that my dad has been in jail since I was 10, A only knew because my auntie had told her. I started crying in my bed, like full on ugly sobbing. I blocked the GC, and now my auntie, Grandma, and a few uncles, are pissed off at me for blocking A, " I don’t care what she said, shes your cousin " my gammie had texted me. I still haven’t talked too them. AITA?
NTA at all. I’m really sorry that happened to you. People who care about you don’t make jokes or digs about your trauma.
NTA, and those are NOT your friends. It very much feels like they’re laughing at you as opposed to with you
Absolutely NTA. Trust doesn’t mean you owe people access to your worst memories on demand. You said no multiple times, they ignored it, then used your trauma as a punchline and a guilt weapon. The cousin comment alone would’ve been enough for me to walk. You didn’t overreact, you reacted to being disrespected.
NTA. you didn’t want to talk about it. They couldnt respect your decision, and instead made it WORSE.
Nuh uh. Set clear boundaries in the future for your cousin, if your family insists on you keeping contact. They need to respect your autonomy.