For a bit of context, my mother wasnt the most caring growing up, she was the type that would sit me in my pushchair infront of the tv all day so she could play her computer games. I only got bathed when my brothers would bathe me. My brothers cooked my meals. I was raised by my brothers. Well theyre all considerably older than me so they all moved out by the time i was 6. At one point there was a infestation of head lice at my school. I caught them. And due to the lack if parenting from my mother, i had them consecutively from the age of 6 to the age of 10, the only reason i got rid of them was because my mother was sick of hearing the school complain and she shaved my head, i was a 10 year old girl with hair down to my butt, she shaved my head.

So its safe to say i have alot of paranoia when it comes to head lice. I caught them again at 17 from my boyfriends little sister and i practically scalped my head getting them out. Even the mention of head lice sends shivers up me.

Well 2 months ago my mother rang me to let me know she found them in her hair and since i had been over i needed to check myself. Luckily i didnt find any, but when i say the fear made it so i didnt leave the house and i combed through my hair multiple times a day for the better part of 2 weeks.

Now ive recieved another phone call from my brother, his daughter has them, someone i was sat next to at a family barbecue 3 days ago. And no one seems to care, no apology, no understanding, just “oh well, she has them its not her fault and its not my problem if you have them, youre a grown woman deal with it” i understand its not her fault and i know my issues arent anyone else’s problem, but now im gonna go back into the spiral of checking my head multiple times a day and refusing to leave the house. So i snapped at them, i told them that i wouldnt be coming to anymore family gatherings until they can all sort themselves out, coz it seems like everytime i travel to see them i come back in fits of panic.

This didnt sit well with them though and now they think im abandoning family over something that cant be helped and isnt preventable. So, aita?