Besides the hippy chick thing, it sounds like your mother and my mother have a lot in common. My mother is also a drama queen and she is very needy and demanding. Like you, I swore I would never be that way and so far I've been successful.
I've also told my husband to shoot me and put me out of his misery if I ever start sounding like her. :-)
(Don't get me wrong. I love my Mom, but she's very difficult to deal with sometimes.)