Why are so many kids suddenly cutting off their parents?

Cutting out family members and going “no contact” has become chic in some corners.Op-eds with titles such as “I feel happier and healthier when not around my mother” litter outlets like The Guardian, #nocontact has garnered 1.9 billion views on TikTok, and searches for “no contact” on Google are up 191% since early 2020, per Google Trends.Increasingly, the narrative has become: Is your family member stressing you out? Well, then simply cut them off entirely.And apparently people are doing just that.“I have noticed a larger rush to terminate contact and relationships,” Driola Dega, a New York City-based therapist specializing in couples and families, told The Post.

“[People seem less willing to accept] that challenges exist in any emotional bond, be it friendship or family or romantic partnerships.”A shocking 38% of American adults say they are estranged from at least one close family member, according to a 2025 YouGov poll.Many report that their therapists are the ones suggesting they take such drastic measures.“You carry all the turmoil, all the conflict, all the pain with you when you leave, and sometimes it intensifies,” Dr.

Dee Apple, a psychologist based in Princeton, New Jersey, said.“But [no contact] has, nonetheless, taken off off in therapy.”Annie Wright, a San Francisco therapist, considers going no-contact “often the only way to survive” in cases of “severe narcissistic or emotional abuse.” She told The Post that going no contact “reminds people that family ties come with conditions.”But Wright, an outspoken proponent of the method, tells The Post that thinks it’s becoming too trendy in the world of therapy and self-help. “What I do hear about and occasionally see is clients who say… a former therapist or social media account encouraged them to cut someone off very quickly,” she told The Post.

“Recommending no contact casually? Yes, I think that’s a problem....