I was never officially the ‘identified patient’ in my family of origin, but it’s interesting to read about this experience because it matches my sense of being the emotionally sensitive one. The one who can’t ignore the dysfunction. The one who can’t function in the dysfunctional family system, but can function well when I’m outside of it. And I think of myself as doing something wrong because I “should” be able to function in all contexts — family or not. But it’s not a fair situation. When I lost myself because the family system shifted, nobody in my family of origin was able to provide the support that I needed. The article below speaks in greater depth.

https://open.substack.com/pub/suzybliss997/p/breaking-free-from-the-identified?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=19bxf3

Also, this post is terrifying because it feels like it’s breaking the rules of my family of origin. A few of those rules were (as I understand them):

• I shouldn’t be able to have thoughts and feelings that don’t support the continuation of that family system.
• I need to support that family system at all costs.

So posting this is going against that, and going against that in a place where anyone can see. “How could I do such a thing?” you may ask. Well, I need to be able to speak my truth. And others are allowed to disagree with me. And that’s what healing looks like to me at this moment in my journey.