According to Bowen Family Systems theory, emotional cutoff is a concept that describes how people manage anxiety in relationships. The premise of the concept is that the greater the fusion between parents and children, the greater the likelihood of a cutoff. I concur with this concept as I experienced this with my own family. My relationship with my mother was problematic as she often appeared overly dependent and overbearing. Throughout most of my early adolescent years my mother required a significant amount of time and support. As a single parent, she often excessively relied on me to help with my younger siblings and to support her emotionally. In my family, the oldest child was responsible for the younger siblings, especially when my
