my cousin assulted me when i was 13, he was my age, and im 18 now and still not over it. it happened twice, and he said it was a joke, but i still have to see him sometimes. my family knows and theyre on my side but honestly i feel some weird connection to him ever since, although i hate him, its like i still care for him so much. He was like a brother, i loved him a lot, and one day it all ended. Its like im romanticizing him and i feel disgusting for it, but i cant help it, i keep loving and hating him with a snap, i just miss him so much. but i hate him for what he did and how him and his mom blamed me for it, i wish things could go back how they used to be. what should i do? therapy isnt really helping.

Question

Anonymous Practitioner · Accepted Answer

im sorry this happened and i hope you know it's not your fault at all. it's ok to feel conflicted about this given that it was a family member you were close to. while I am curious about whether or not he regrets it or if he is even remorseful about his actions cause that would help suggest your move my opinion, and this is biased, given that it still hurts you, i think you should distance yourself from them. Behaviour like this rarely changes or improves, and this may sound brutal but i don't think things will go back to the way they were before