Grammy-nominated R&B recording artist and reality star Syleena Johnson doesn't have memories of an idyllic childhood.
Growing
up, Johnson recalls being cursed at and bullied by her own mother.
Though Johnson is now an adult with children of her own, her painful
past has continued to affect her volatile relationship with her mom,
Brenda Thompson, who now lives with Johnson. The family is at a breaking
point.
So,
Johnson called relationship expert Iyanla Vanzant to help her repair
her relationship with her mother. Johnson tells her, "My mom cusses at
us. She would call us b*tches and h*es, stuff like that."
Iyanla
asks Johnson what she thinks she did to make her mother speak to her
like that. Johnson says, "I used to hide all the time. I would go and
closets and stay there for hours."
"You call this bad? As a child, you call hiding bad?" Iyanla asks.
"Well,
I mean, if I was being called and I didn't answer, that was considered
being bad," Johnson responds. "[My mother] viewed that as
disrespectful."
That's
not all Thompson views as disrespectful, according to her daughter.
"She views having an opinion as being disrespectful. Even at 36. And
this is where the problem comes in for me," Johnson tells Iyanla. "I
should be able to have an opinion and a say about how I think things
should run in my life."
After
hearing this, Iyanla prompts Johnson to make a difficult and pointed
statement: "I experience my mother as a bully," Johnson admits.
Johnson breaks down. "I just want it to end," she says through tears. "Why does it affect me so much?"
In
the video, Iyanla explains how Johnson's childhood being bullied
carries through to her outlook as an adult. "In your life, she's still a
big person bullying you," Iyanla says.READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/42185.html
