14/11/2025
Some children grow up in homes where the real danger isnât chaos or yelling - itâs the absence of emotional safety.
Maybe you grew up with a parent whoâŚ
⢠projected their own trauma onto you, making you responsible for their feelings
⢠shamed you for expressing needs, boundaries, or independence
⢠played the martyr - âafter everything Iâve done for youâŚâ
⢠kept score of the love, support, or money they gave, and made sure you knew what you âowedâ
⢠made an example out of you when you slipped up, highlighting your mistakes instead of supporting your growth
⢠couldn't tolerate conflict, avoided hard conversations, or shut down the moment emotions appeared
⢠never owned their behaviour - only yours
Children raised in these dynamics donât just âget over it.â
They learn to walk on eggshells.
They learn to stay small.
They learn that love is conditional.
They learn that their emotions are wrong or inconvenient.
They learn to be the peacekeepers, the fixers, the over-functioners.
And as adults, they often become the ones who:
⢠apologise even when theyâre not at fault
⢠struggle to trust
⢠fear abandonment
⢠feel responsible for everyone elseâs feelings
⢠avoid conflict because it never felt safe
⢠choose partners who repeat familiar patterns
⢠donât know how to ask for what they need
Not because theyâre broken - but because no one ever taught them what safety felt like.
And this is why healing matters.
Not just for us, but for the children we raise and the relationships we build.
When adults and couples do the work - therapy, boundaries, self-awareness, accountability, emotional literacy - we interrupt the cycle.
We show the next generation what it feels like to be heard, to be respected, to be loved without conditions. We build homes where children donât have to earn safety - they simply have it.
Breaking intergenerational trauma isnât about blaming our parents.
Itâs about choosing something healthier for ourselves⌠and for the people who come after us.
Healing isnât easy - but itâs how we change the story. đ