http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-...b_4226417.html

This have given me a bit of a shock. My mum would never let me say 'no' to her. If I went out to see a friend that I'd planned to see rather than staying at home to babysit at an unreasonable last minute request as a teenager, she wouldn't talk to me for days.

Now I've just done a massive 'no'. The biggest 'no' I've ever said. I've rejected my entire family since July because I am sick of being the 'emotional sponge' they talk about in this article. I am saying 'no' now, and trying my hardest to hear my own voice - what do I want to do? Rather than what everyone else demands of me.

After being conditioned my whole life to do exactly as my mother says - lord help me if I don't - I am finally asserting my right to controlling my own time, aged 25. It's really hard to say 'no' to my expert manipulator mother, but I am succeeding.

This is pervading my whole life. I am learning to say 'no' at work too. I am learning to turn down money in favour of mental health. I am learning to shed unnecessary commitments and be more selective about opportunities. I am fighting some very deep conditioning. It's difficult but each time I say 'no', I find it a little bit easier than the last time, and I feel a little bit more confident.

Please read this article if your parents never let you talk back to them. It might help you too.