There are ways of showing concern that sit between tough love and saying nothing, says Annalisa Barbieri
My daughter is in her 30s and leads an independent life with a demanding job, which gives her a lot of satisfaction. Her mother and I separated amicably 20 years ago, and my daughter lived largely with her mother. However, we saw each other regularly, travelled a lot together and I’ve always been very involved in her life.
The problem is that my daughter often makes barbed comments to me, which can be hurtful. However, she’s extremely touchy if the slightest criticism is made of her, and there are subjects I feel I can’t discuss with her. It seems that she needs to put me (and maybe others) down to make herself feel better. She doesn’t always find life easy, has low self-esteem and has suffered from depression.
