Posted by:
exminion
(
)
Date: September 12, 2019 05:31AM
I have PTSD, too, and Provo is a huge trigger. "Enduring to the end" to graduate from that joke of an institution was the biggest mistake I ever made, year after year, for four years!
I had another life in California, where I would return in the summers and at Christmas, and feel like a human being again. I could be myself, happy and free, as good as anyone else. Then I would go back to Provo, and it was like going back to jail.
It was a feeling--something oppressive and demoralizing--about Provo, that still exists today. It's hard to define, and interesting that others of you feel the same way. My children will not go there, for any reason, and they don't even have a history there. I have spared them the horror stories--mine, and other girls in the dorm, and what they sacrificed, and lost, to be imprisoned there, under subjugation to the Mormon cult.
Your friend is using Provo as an excuse to bring up Mormonism. I have ex-Mormon cousins who live in Provo, and other cousins who teach at BYU, and they hardly ever mention Provo or the cult. We are all considerate of each other, and respect our right to have our own views. I don't consider going to their homes the same as going on the BYU campus, which I avoid. I go straight to the destination, and look at the pretty mountains, and won't even stop for gas there.
Maybe your friend is worth the effort of you "filtering out" the Mormon stuff from her e-mails, and focusing only on the other parts--if there are any--that deal with her and her family and positive things in her life. Only respond to the good stuff. Every friend has their good and bad qualities, you know.
I also disagree with "There are no rules in friendship."
Are you close enough that you could tell her you get PTSD flashbacks, and ask her to please not mention the Mormons or their so-called universities?
Your friend might be innocent, also, who knows? Maybe she's obsessed with BYU and Provo, as so many of those inmates are. Sometimes, friendships just naturally die out, due to different interests. You don't need to be mean or dramatic--just ease your way out of the relationship, gradually, quietly.
You could put her off by talking about something that might trigger HER.
I had a friend who would call me every day to update me on every little thing her husband said and did. I didn't have a husband, and wanted to enjoy all the freedom and luxury of not having one of those to boss me around. Plus, both my marriages were disasters. Finally, I lost patience, and started bragging about my children, and that shut her up. We're still friends, at a distance. Her husband and son are violent and frightening, so I don't go there, but I do call once or twice a year and say, "Let's go to a movie!"
Without rules, there can be no friendship.