For many people who have grown up in a dysfunctional family, feelings of guilt and shame fill their life. These emotions are so ingrained that they become a part of who they are, and it is hard to break free of these negative feelings.

These feelings aren’t from mistakes made or the occasional embarrassment, which many of us have and is completely normal, this is from a deeper burden, tied to feelings of unworthiness.

If you’ve lived with these emotions, you may not even realize or recognize how much they’re affecting your life! However, even though it’s not easy, you can learn to break free and overcome your feelings of shame and guilt.

By understanding how guilt and shame have formed within you, you can begin to replace these negatives with positives, by learning to love yourself. Continue reading →

Setting boundaries is such a healthy thing to do, however, for people from a dysfunctional family, the concept of setting healthy boundaries can feel impossible. Boundaries protect your emotional, physical, and mental space, however, if you have grown up in a family where your boundaries were ignored, and possibly didn’t exist, then it’s no surprise that it’s hard for you to set any as an adult.

In healthy families, boundaries are clear and respected. For example, respecting a child’s need for privacy or teaching them to say no when they feel uncomfortable. However, in dysfunctional families, these lines are often crossed. Perhaps you were expected to drop everything, all the time, in order to meet someone else’s needs, regardless of how you felt. These negative experiences soon teach you that anyone who sets boundaries is selfish.

When you try to set boundaries now as an adult, you might start to feel guilt or fear creeping in. You might be worrying they will get upset with you. What if they think you are unfair, or worse, stop loving you. These thoughts often stem from the roles and rules you were forced into as a child. Continue reading →