Extreme parental alienation

In this case, detailed in an excellent account in The Free Press, both parents were cast off. But it can happen to just one parent, aided and abetted by the parent's ex. That happens more often than you'd think.

Definitely worth a read, and also worth a subscription.

And: I'd like to tell you it gets better. But, much of the time, it doesn't.

It's death without dying.

"When I was 19, my therapist told me I was not safe living with my parents.

It was 2008, and I had been struggling with suicidal thoughts for a little while. I had admitted this to my best friend, who recommended her therapist to me, and in the months that followed, that therapist told me that my parents were “toxic” and “coercive”; I needed “boundaries.” Suddenly, all my problems had a tantalizingly simple root cause: my mom and dad.

So, I cut them off completely. I didn’t speak to them for five years. Now, I deeply regret it."