Reaching a Breaking Point

The Dr. Laura Podcast

Mackenzie, a 33-year-old entrepreneur, calls in expressing exhaustion from being 'parentified' by her mother, who struggles with unaddressed

Key takeaways

• Mackenzie is 33, single, and running her own company while feeling overwhelmed by family responsibilities.
• Dr. Laura advises that the 'dumbest thing' one can do is get involved in someone else's unaddressed childhood trauma.

Main topics

• Parentification
• Setting boundaries with parents

Notable quotes

The dumbest thing you could do is to be involved in that.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a blunt guide on the importance of emotional ind

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Thanks for listening to my call of the day brought to you by my sponsor, Angel, a streaming platform built around stories that uplift stories about courage, sacrifice, faith, and family. If you've been looking for entertainment that reflects your values, check out Angel. Go to angel.com slash drlaura to become an Angel Premium member and receive two tickets to upcoming theatrical releases. Remember, you can hear my radio program daily. on Sirius XM Triumph and connect with me 24-7 at drlaura Speaker 2 (0:32) .com. Mackenzie, welcome to the Speaker 3 (0:34) program. Speaker 2 (0:35) Hi, Dr. Laura. How are you? Good. Speaker 3 (0:38) What's going on? Speaker 2 (0:40) I have been feeling exhausted. Speaker 2 (0:46) parentified often by a lot of people in my life. And, um, with, you know, this, this often is about my mom and, um, would love to get your advice on, on how to manage. So, Speaker 3 (1:04) so you're exhausted with your mom. Speaker 2 (1:07) I am often. Speaker 3 (1:09) Okay. Tell me what's going on. I Speaker 2 (1:10) love her very much. I believe you. Speaker 3 (1:13) I Speaker 2 (1:13) believe you. So what's happening? Yeah, she's a very strong person. She has never dealt with her deep childhood traumas. Oh, God. Oh, Speaker 3 (1:26) God. I try to get people away from dealing with their deep childhood trauma. I spend time on this air trying to get people to leave that in the past. And have a plan for today. And if your mother is still embracing or living out through her deep childhood trauma, the dumbest thing you could do is to be involved in that. Speaker 2 (1:57) Dumbest. The consequences of that is that she then parentifies me. Speaker 3 (2:05) Ma'am, if you're not involved in it, she can't do this to you. Speaker 3 (2:11) Mm-hmm. Speaker 2 (2:14) It's tough because I... It doesn't matter if it's tough. I Speaker 3 (2:18) don't care if it's tough. I have never cared if something was tough. That was never a criterion for me to take it on. Speaker 2 (2:30) Let me add more to this, too. I think what I... Absolutely, go for it. I'm Speaker 3 (2:35) going Speaker 2 (2:35) to sit Speaker 3 (2:35) back and relax, and I promise I won't get exhausted. Go ahead. Speaker 2 (2:40) As I