My family is really not normal! I feel like the only one that got out with finding emotional health. But then I look around.. isn't having 'toxic' familly the normal thing nowadays... I hope so, because I don't want to feel ripped off.
2007-06-03 06:39:35 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
Depends upon what you accept as "normal". I thought I had a perfectly normal childhood until I woke up years later to find there had always been something dreadfully wrong with my parents relationship. When I got married, I found my husband was running around (not "normal", according to my upbringing) so I divorced him (also, not "normal") and ended up married to a guy who was addicted to porn (really not "normal"). Then I found out I was probably okay because my best friend was involved in a relationship with her stepfather. Standards of conduct fluctuate; what is normal in one culture is unacceptable in others. And since most people who are on the edges of acceptability don't flaunt it, you seldom know anything about it. So I think you haven't missed a thing, expect maybe you have been spared something that someone else went through, that you would have thought was horrendous. Relax. We are what we make of ourselves.
2007-06-03 07:03:18 · answer #1 · answered by claudiacake 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What is a normal family? Mine is definitely not. I had been sexually abused my a family member as a child so I had a lot of hang ups growing up. I did go to a shrink for 12 year and joined a group called emotions anonymous and now am probably the most well adjusted person in my family. The others are greedy and lie. Siblings that had move away from home like one is in Sweden and one is in Victoria while the rest have pretty well stayed on the east coast of north America.....any way those who have move away seem to the the one that can create so many problems it isn't funny. In spite of my own childhood, as an adult I thought our family would stay together with just a few regular sibling disagreements. Boy was I wrong. Now I feel like I am in one the those soap operas where a family is against any other member in the family. It is absolutely crazy. I have found out through friends that I thought had perfect families......not. They are just as toxic.....but can hide it better!!!!
2007-06-03 13:57:16 · answer #2 · answered by Paulette S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why the hell would you feel ripped off? Do you not love your family despite their problems?
No, the "normal" tv-defined family is NOT normal. Normal families are something more along the lines of the Simpsons (minus Homer strangling Bart usually). Every family has their problems. Every family has to deal with these problems. It's how the family deals with these problems that matters.
If someone claims to have a "perfect" family, they could be telling the truth, but they could also just be blind. Most "perfect" families ignore their problems so they don't have to deal with them.
2007-06-03 14:19:47 · answer #3 · answered by Laura 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We're human..and that means both that we're not perfect and that everyone's different...therefore different ways of "normal". yes, its "normal" to be "not normal" or "unhealthy", but you don't have to leave it that way. have good communication and try to fix problems instead of fixing them (that's common in my family). If you need outside help, try having a close family friend speak with a member of your family (ie someone that you know has dealt with that specific problem,) or seek a 3rd party who can be objective: like a family counselor, psychologist or marriage counselor. You may feel that your family is off the wall, but you're right, most people really don't have perfect families either. Just have to stick with your family and try to love them despite their differences
2007-06-03 13:46:26 · answer #4 · answered by biologynerd19 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pshhh what the hell is normal anyways??? Everybody i know's family is dysfunctional in some way. People that look picture perfect on the outside isnt always the case once you dig a little deeper. Don't worry everbodys gonna need therapy at one point or another
2007-06-03 13:43:46 · answer #5 · answered by Candace C 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If everyone came from "normal" backgrounds, we'd all be walking around like zombies, saying the same things, doing the same stuff and we would even bore ourselves. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger-- I survived the craziness so now I almost feel like it's smooth sailing from here.
2007-06-03 13:45:59 · answer #6 · answered by Ring Ring Ring Bananaphone 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I know I'm pessimistic but I would say dysfunctional families are the norm. People who say they grew up in a "perfect" family are either lieing or in denial.
2007-06-03 13:45:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
what the hell is normal anyhow
2007-06-03 13:50:07 · answer #8 · answered by femmefatale 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋