Becoming a truly healthy functioning adult is an expectation that many people find near impossible if they have been raised in a dysfunctional family system.
It is estimated that one in three individuals have experienced alcohol, drugs, mental illness, verbal, physical or sexual abuse and co-dependency within their family dynamic in the United States. These odds do not offer much hope for creating children with good self-esteem, self- respect and balanced personalities. As adult children from dysfunction interact in school, relationships and the workforce we can see that they have sustained character traits and behaviors that indicate that they are emotionally children pretending to be adults, or in other words mimicking how they are supposed to act or react situationally.
The desire to become the person that we express on the outside, but rarely feel connected to internally is a process. We need to be able to review our past objectively, heal the child within and overcome the familiars from our families of origin. The need to review the character traits that have allowed us to survive our past and release those traits that no longer serve us is primary in adult functionality.
Working with a professional who has the tools and methods to allow for a sustained growth and lasting change is a brave first step.