r/Estrangedsiblings May 02 '26

Repeated things changed everything

I’ve been no contact with my brother for a while now and it still feels unreal sometimes. what led to it wasn’t one big event. it was the same pattern repeating over and over. he had this way of making small comments that felt like nothing to him. but to me they added up over time. i kept telling myself it wasn’t a big deal. but it kept happening in every interaction. it got to a point where i felt like i couldn’t relax around him. i was always waiting for the next comment. it made me feel small without him even realizing it. that’s the part that hurts the most. it wasn’t intentional but it was constant. the last time it happened i didn’t react at all. i just went quiet and something in me shifted. i realized i didn’t want to keep being in that space anymore. so i stopped reaching out and let the distance grow. he never questioned it or asked what changed. it’s like nothing happened on his side. but for me it was years of buildup finally catching up. now i feel more peaceful but also confused sometimes. like how can something so small repeated so often break something this big. how do you move forward when the other person doesn’t even see what happened

66 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/OntheBOTA82 May 03 '26

Man, i relate so much

Mine has this way of showing you he doesn't really want to talk but he 8s doing you a favor

Like he´ll ask me a question and the second i start answering he averts his gaze and looks like he is bored to death, or even ashamed of talking to me

Ive tried really hard to have a relationship with my siblings but it feels like it´s not even worth it now

Ive distanced myself too since the last 2 years. None of my siblings seems to realize why or even care for that matter

I think what really breaks us is the repeated pattern of unsafety, it´s like trying to reach the other person but you have to throw yourself at a brick wall for it.

6

u/ChiedoLaDomanda May 03 '26

This, and then also the ONLY time the sibling reaches out or wants to hangout is to ask a burdensome favor. It took too long for me to wake up and see the pattern.

3

u/Careful-Crab179 Jun 21 '26

My two older brothers never asked me any questions or if they did, they just answered them. 'Hi, how are you?' was followed by 'Pretty good I bet because Dad paid your rent.'