My character, Janice is the overprotective, neurotic, timid mother of one of the heroes, I fear that she may be seen as unlikable, pathetic and unsympathetic
Her timid demeanor is result of
While I do find the nature of dismissing and bashing traumatized and meek characters without acknowledging any context is a bit cruel, but I still wants her to seen as an at least sympathetic character
Try to find aspects of her personality or situation and make it easy for readers to relate to.
You could make it so the audience cheers for the little victories she accomplishes. Maybe (for example) she's afraid to leave the house or is too timid to talk to a man at the store, and we see her struggle with that, and then we're proud of her when she overcomes it. For her overprotective and neurotic traits, you could show how she makes the wrong decisions but means well. Maybe she limits the hero and places a lot of rules on them, and at first it seems controlling and arbitrary, but then you show that she's just worried and that's the only way she knows how to show she cares.
A good rule for making any character likeable, is to show how deep of a character they are. If you put in the time and effort to make this character feel real, people will like her.
Another thing I would like to note. One of my favorite lyrics is from "Moana." and its
"They have stolen the heart from inside you, But this does not define you. This is not who you are."
When I have a character go through a traumatic experience, I will always look back at this line, they either know this or they don't, and if they don't, having them learn that this event does not define them, is the most compelling story arc to give them, in my experience.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
