Hello, friend.
If you want your parents to understand their limits, you first need to set your own limits.
It's important to set your own boundaries, which can be broken down into three main areas: material boundaries, distance boundaries, and thought boundaries.
In terms of financial boundaries, it's important to be financially independent.
You're already of dating age, so you have a job and get paid every month. Since you're already earning money, don't just accept money from your parents.
If you want something, buy it yourself. If you can't afford it, don't ask your parents for money, and don't just accept money from them.
If you want something expensive but don't have the money, either save for a few months or work part-time after work to earn more.
Just a heads-up: Don't accept money from your parents. This is the third time I've mentioned it.
Parents will worry that if their daughter accepts money from them, it means she can't manage her finances and won't be able to live independently. As a parent, I'll still be concerned about my daughter's financial future. I'm getting older, and one day I won't be able to support her. I need to find her a suitable partner as soon as possible so that I can have peace of mind. After all, this is the best thing I can do for her.
You need to be able to live independently.
If you have a little savings, you could just rent a place and move out on your own.
You can go straight to an agent to look at a house, sign a contract after you've found a place you like, pay the deposit, and make arrangements with the landlord. You don't have to wait for your parents to agree.
Once you've got the keys to your rental apartment, you can let your parents know you're moving out.
You don't have to tell them, but you are responsible for informing them.
It's normal for your parents to get emotional, throw tantrums, cry, and wail. The best thing you can do is stay silent and not react to their emotions.
If you respond to their emotions, you'll lose.
You need to show your parents that even if you live on your own, you can take care of yourself just fine.
In terms of mental boundaries, it's important to be independent in your thinking.
I'm not too worried about this. As you said in your problem description, your parents' marriage was marked by fighting, which is why you have a negative view of marriage. Coupled with a lack of feelings for men, this has increased your desire not to get married. You have tied me to their emotions and expectations, making me the carrier of their emotions. I can reject their emotions once or twice.
"But if it keeps happening, I'm going to reach my limit."
You can just tell them directly that you have your own mind and you need to be responsible for your actions. If you know what you're thinking, but you're forced to do something by your parents' pressure, moral kidnapping, or emotional blackmail, and you're afraid to stand up for yourself, then it means that you don't have enough inner stability and your mind isn't yet completely independent.
If you have something to say, speak up. If you don't, your parents will always think you're a child who can be easily influenced.
Breaking free from the cult of parents and authority is an important step towards complete independence of thought. You need to overcome the fear of parental authority within you.
If you can't do it right now, don't worry. I've got a solution.
I think the solution is to start calling "parental authority" what it really is: "parental tyranny."
It's undeniable that when we were kids, our parents raised us. We naturally admired their authority and believed that whatever they said was right.
But we've grown up now, and as adults, we see the limitations in our parents' wishes. We can't blindly follow them, but my parents just want to force me to do it. If they do, that's tyranny. I'm already an adult, but they treat me like a child. The purpose is ridiculous. They want to maintain their status as parents and force me to fit into a box of "obedience" and act out a scene with them of "good family values and a filial daughter." How can this be "authority"? It's just "tyranny."
You've described in your account how your parents speak to you in a way that's full of pressure. For example, they'll say things like, "My daughter will not be like everyone else; she will stay with me," or, "Your grandmother is in the hospital; you have to be sensible and not spend a lot of money," or, "If you don't get married, what will people say about me?"
I think this is a kind of perverted form of authority.
I'm afraid we don't believe you.
As long as you break free from your parents' authority, you can achieve independence of thought.
Girl, you need to make some changes. You need to be more independent.
Material boundary: financial independence
Life independence is another key factor.
Spiritual independence is another key factor.
Once you've got these three dimensions of independence nailed down, your parents won't be able to interfere as easily in your marriage.
Have a good time.
Comments
I understand where my parents are coming from, but I need to live my life according to what feels right for me. Marriage isn't something I feel drawn to, and I've got to find a way to make them see that.
It's tough when your parents have different expectations than you do. I want to sit down with them and calmly explain that not everyone's path includes marriage, and that's perfectly okay.
The pressure from my parents is immense, especially given their own experiences. I think it's important to remind them that my happiness doesn't necessarily come from the same sources as theirs did or didn't.
My parents' views on marriage seem outdated to me. I'm going to try to show them that I can be successful and fulfilled without following the traditional route they envision.
It breaks my heart that my parents had a difficult marriage, but I don't want that to dictate my choices. I need to assert that my decisions should be based on my desires, not reactions to theirs.