Becoming an empty nester is never easy, and every parent has a different way of handling it. Some pull their kids closer by letting them go, but some push them away by holding too tight — and the mother in this story is doing the second thing.

A young woman preparing to move to college an hour from home found herself fielding guilt trips about “abandoning” her mother for her boyfriend and her new friends.

The student worked tirelessly to reassure her anxious mother, but nothing she said was enough.

Her mother’s anxious spiral culminated when she desperately declared she’d cut all contact if her daughter moved in with her boyfriend instead of her.

Suddenly this student was counting down the days until she could escape her mother’s control.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA My mum is obsessed with the idea that I’ll leave her

Long story short, I’m moving to university one hour away from home.

I would come back most weekends and maybe during the week too. I have a loving, amazing boyfriend that my mum approves of.

Unfortunately, she’s pretty much all her mother has, which has made the prospect of moving away very difficult.

She doesn’t have family around, friends, or a partner — only me.

I’ve told her all this and I reassure her constantly that I won’t leave her behind, but she’s convinced I will replace her with my boyfriend and will just spend every minute with him.

The more anxious her mom got, the more unreasonable she became.

She wants more time together, yet works day and night every single day.

She kept saying that if I move in with him and his mum when I leave, she will cut contact with me.

But this hasn’t been on this college student’s radar at all — at least not yet.

I don’t even want to move in with him yet, and we haven’t even spoken about that at all since we’ve only been together for three years.

On the flip side, she mentions that she’s going to move to Australia, so it’s just crazy hypocritical of her.

Her mom starts to develop some serious resentment towards everyone else in her life.

She thinks my boyfriend is taking me away from her, which isn’t even true as we don’t spend loads of time together anyway.

She makes me feel crap about my relationship and about going out with friends.

I’ve never had good friends until recently, when I finally met some wonderful girls who actually like me.

But now she feels like her mother’s anxiety is ruining everything.

I feel like I shouldn’t be happy going out with my friends or my boyfriend, and I don’t understand what her problem is, because I love her so much and always want to be around her and always, always reassure her.

She’s driving me away from her, to the point where I’m counting down the days until I leave for uni.

AITA?

This mom needs some serious therapy — and fast.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a young woman who struggles with her new reality after learning her adoption story was a lie.

What did Reddit have to say?

Her mom really needs to let her have her independence.

This user also cites some serious attachment issues.

Therapy needs to be a non-negotiable here.

Treating her boyfriend as competition is crossing a serious line.

The most heartbreaking part about this story is this mother is desperately trying to keep her daughter close, but the way she’s choosing to do it is having the complete opposite effect.

Watching your child fly the coop is a completely normal part of life, and in many instances, it’s a sign that you’ve raised a healthy, well-adjusted and independent child. That’s something worth celebrating.

But taking all of this anxiety out on a woman whose life is just beginning just isn’t fair. Her daughter should feel emboldened to spread her wings, not forced to apologize for it.

Something has to give here.

Now, it’s either committing to therapy or risking pushing her daughter away for good. The choice is hers.