Being cut off from a family member, or choosing that distance yourself, sits with you in ways that are hard to explain to people who haven't experienced it. There's often grief mixed with relief, or clarity mixed with doubt. Whether the estrangement was your decision, theirs, or something that happened gradually over years, it changes the texture of family gatherings, holidays, and the simple question of who counts as close.
Therapy can help you process the layers of what happened without needing to arrive at a tidy verdict. If you're considering reconciliation, it can help you think through what you actually want, what conditions might make that possible, and how to protect yourself in the process. If you're committed to the distance, it can help you make peace with that choice and the grief that often comes alongside it. Either way, working through estrangement is something you don't have to do entirely on your own.