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Why So Many People Are Going "No Contact" with Their Parents

A growing movement wants to destigmatize severing ties. Is it a much-needed corrective, or a worrisome change in family relations?

(Sample post: “Has anyone ever had a good response to, ‘I will pray for you’?”) I spoke with a university student who had cut ties with her parents and brother, and she told me that the forums were “instrumental to me not feeling alone.” She got practical tips on changing her credit cards, and applying for financial aid. One middle-aged man from London, who became estranged from his family as a result of a “communication breakdown,” told me that he found Stand Alone sessions helpful, but wished they offered more advice for people feeling unsure about their choices. Coleman believes that estrangement is becoming more common, in part because of “changing notions of what constitutes harmful, abusive, traumatizing or neglectful behavior.” He cited a paper by the psychologist Nick Haslam that showed that the definition of trauma has expanded in the past three decades to include experiences that were once considered ordinary.

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