Dear Annie: My father has been disrespectful to me for a long time

Dear Annie: I’m a 23-year-old woman living with my parents because the cost of housing is so high. This is creating problems, especially in my relationship with my father. He has been disrespectful to me for a long time, at least since I was 18. He makes disparaging comments about my weight, my friends and my life choices.

This in turn has created a situation in which most of my childhood friends have basically abandoned me. I can’t make any new friends because I’m forced to be around him. If I protest, he gets upset and huffy at me. And since therapy is out of the question, is there any advice you could give me? — Stressful Father

Dear Stressful Father: Domestic abuse is not just physical; it can also be emotional. It sounds like your father is verbally abusing you, and that is not OK. The National Domestic Violence Hotline website will help you find resources to free you from this prison: https://www.thehotline.org

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“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].