The ultimate role reversal: when the child becomes the parent.
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Which sacrifices internal attunement
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An incessant monitoring of others' emotional state and often racing out in front of others to buffer or protect them from struggle
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And no one seems to notice our efforts
The compensatory sibling
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Overachievement
Somehow we knew that we needed to deliver for one or both of our parents since another sibling clearly abdicated. There had to be some wins, so we delivered.
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A black hole
Where our needs and wants would otherwise exist. Since we never had a parent attuned to our emotions, no one mirrored back these basic dimensions of ourselves.
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Anger
Of course, there's anger, but that anger gets repressed because where will it go? Inward, that's where it goes, to restricting and scolding ourselves.
