Do you feel a close, family-like connection to people outside of your biological relatives?
Have you ever heard the phrase “chosen family” to mean the close relationships and connections formed outside of a nuclear family? Do you have people in your life whom you would describe as your “chosen family”?
Describe a close relationship with someone in your biological or chosen family. What kinds of things do you do with them? Why are they special to you? In your experience, why can it be important or helpful to have close connections with people outside of your nuclear family? Share a story about a time when you turned to someone outside of your nuclear family for advice or support. Does anyone else’s extended family never ever make contact and then passive aggressively comment that they never see you? Maybe there is something wrong with me or my brain wiring is all jiggled up. But I really don't get the family obsession. Family is Everything. Family is the Meaning of Life. Etc. I see my significant other with his family. He feels safe with them and feels a bond with them. I understand intellectually that people are fiercely devoted to their families, but I do not understand that on an emotional level. I just don't get the tribe mentality. It feels shortsighted to me. I'm not even really sure how to express this feeling. I feel like an alien. I just...don't get "family". Does anyone else feel this way or has gone through this? Do people actually like their families?
So recently, I came to the realisation that people actually genuinely enjoy being around their families and it wasn’t just a society wide joke we were all indulging.
Like the title says, even though I’ve completely emotionally detached from my NMom over the past two years and am LC with her, my eDad, and GC sister, I’m still filled w sadness over the birth family I dont have. I crave the emotional connection/stability/support of the healthy families my fellow adult moms come from (33F) and I’m having such a hard time accepting that this will never be me and just isn’t my experience. Anyone else struggle with this? Or have tips on how to accept and let go? FWIW, the family I’ve built w my husband and son is incredible, so that does bring me some comfort.
Is that real? It seems unbelievable. Does anyone else who's family isn't very close ever feel ...awkward about it?
My fam is pretty weird. Sometimes it feels like everyone I know has perfectly tight-knit or at least normal families and it makes me wonder if it's strange that I basically have no family life. My parents and siblings all kinda do their own things and none of them obligate me to attend anything with extended family. Anyone else ever feel that way? What do you think of family relationship? Do you think that maintaining contact with your family as you get old is worth it? If so, how would you maintain it?
I feel like i have an impression that as you grow older you'll grow distant with your family, cousins that you once considered like brothers and sisters seems like strangers to you now and as for siblings? Me and them seem indifferent nor care what we're doing with our lives now. Anyone else not that close with a lot of their family?
I just don't share a lot of common interests wth most of my family members. I find it's getting a lot harder to even talk to my parents on the phone lately. This makes me feel a little unsure of myself sometimes and I don't like feeling that way. I honestly just avoid all contact with more distant relatives because that is just beyond my level of caring. I have never heard someone my dads age talk about their aunt or their cousin. It's inevitable that I will stop talking to them eventually. But my mom, dad and sister are different. I want to have things to talk about with them but right now I care a lot more about chasing my dreams of being successful than I do about trying harder to keep in communication with them. Has anyone else dealt with this before? What were your thoughts on it? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?
As immediate or extended as you like. I don't think I have a very good relationship with my family. In my opinion, we all love each other and get along, but beneath the surface, there's a lot of negativity.
When I was younger, I thought that our extended family was close with everyone else. I've just noticed that bonds that people have each other have fallen apart over time due to a variety of events.
My immediate family, I'm really tired of them. My mother still incessantly hovers. I can't go anywhere without her worrying, without her asking who I'm going with or where I'm going. I haven't gotten along with my dad for years. We don't talk much, and when we do, he's yelling at me. It sucks because I'm long past the point of caring, caring enough to try and fix things. I have one younger brother. He is 2 years younger and autistic. Great kid, I love him, but not really close the way I've seen other brothers are. Are you close with your family? And how does that affect your other relationships? Sorry if the title is weird, I'm just not quite sure how to word it properly. I don't think 'family attachment' is the correct term, but I'm not quite sure how else to describe it. If anyone can put my jumbled thoughts into proper words please do. I'm just wondering if anyone else feels like they don't have, or want to be part of, a family? I've never really felt like I've had a family. While I do talk to my sister a lot and I think we're really close, I've never seen her as my sister, she's always just been a person in my life that I care for. I feel like I don't have a family or really know what having a family is like. I don't feel like I have uncles, aunts, or cousins. And I also can't imagine myself in a family. I can't imagine myself being a wife or mother, nor can I imagine myself as someone's daughter-in-law. While I acknowledge the fact that I technically have a 'family', I don't feel like I do. They're kind of just 'people I know'; not quite strangers, but not family or friend either.
Does anyone else feel this way?
Describe a close relationship with someone in your biological or chosen family. What kinds of things do you do with them? Why are they special to you? In your experience, why can it be important or helpful to have close connections with people outside of your nuclear family? Share a story about a time when you turned to someone outside of your nuclear family for advice or support. Does anyone else’s extended family never ever make contact and then passive aggressively comment that they never see you? Maybe there is something wrong with me or my brain wiring is all jiggled up. But I really don't get the family obsession. Family is Everything. Family is the Meaning of Life. Etc. I see my significant other with his family. He feels safe with them and feels a bond with them. I understand intellectually that people are fiercely devoted to their families, but I do not understand that on an emotional level. I just don't get the tribe mentality. It feels shortsighted to me. I'm not even really sure how to express this feeling. I feel like an alien. I just...don't get "family". Does anyone else feel this way or has gone through this? Do people actually like their families?
So recently, I came to the realisation that people actually genuinely enjoy being around their families and it wasn’t just a society wide joke we were all indulging.
Like the title says, even though I’ve completely emotionally detached from my NMom over the past two years and am LC with her, my eDad, and GC sister, I’m still filled w sadness over the birth family I dont have. I crave the emotional connection/stability/support of the healthy families my fellow adult moms come from (33F) and I’m having such a hard time accepting that this will never be me and just isn’t my experience. Anyone else struggle with this? Or have tips on how to accept and let go? FWIW, the family I’ve built w my husband and son is incredible, so that does bring me some comfort.
Is that real? It seems unbelievable. Does anyone else who's family isn't very close ever feel ...awkward about it?
My fam is pretty weird. Sometimes it feels like everyone I know has perfectly tight-knit or at least normal families and it makes me wonder if it's strange that I basically have no family life. My parents and siblings all kinda do their own things and none of them obligate me to attend anything with extended family. Anyone else ever feel that way? What do you think of family relationship? Do you think that maintaining contact with your family as you get old is worth it? If so, how would you maintain it?
I feel like i have an impression that as you grow older you'll grow distant with your family, cousins that you once considered like brothers and sisters seems like strangers to you now and as for siblings? Me and them seem indifferent nor care what we're doing with our lives now. Anyone else not that close with a lot of their family?
I just don't share a lot of common interests wth most of my family members. I find it's getting a lot harder to even talk to my parents on the phone lately. This makes me feel a little unsure of myself sometimes and I don't like feeling that way. I honestly just avoid all contact with more distant relatives because that is just beyond my level of caring. I have never heard someone my dads age talk about their aunt or their cousin. It's inevitable that I will stop talking to them eventually. But my mom, dad and sister are different. I want to have things to talk about with them but right now I care a lot more about chasing my dreams of being successful than I do about trying harder to keep in communication with them. Has anyone else dealt with this before? What were your thoughts on it? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?
As immediate or extended as you like. I don't think I have a very good relationship with my family. In my opinion, we all love each other and get along, but beneath the surface, there's a lot of negativity.
When I was younger, I thought that our extended family was close with everyone else. I've just noticed that bonds that people have each other have fallen apart over time due to a variety of events.
My immediate family, I'm really tired of them. My mother still incessantly hovers. I can't go anywhere without her worrying, without her asking who I'm going with or where I'm going. I haven't gotten along with my dad for years. We don't talk much, and when we do, he's yelling at me. It sucks because I'm long past the point of caring, caring enough to try and fix things. I have one younger brother. He is 2 years younger and autistic. Great kid, I love him, but not really close the way I've seen other brothers are. Are you close with your family? And how does that affect your other relationships? Sorry if the title is weird, I'm just not quite sure how to word it properly. I don't think 'family attachment' is the correct term, but I'm not quite sure how else to describe it. If anyone can put my jumbled thoughts into proper words please do. I'm just wondering if anyone else feels like they don't have, or want to be part of, a family? I've never really felt like I've had a family. While I do talk to my sister a lot and I think we're really close, I've never seen her as my sister, she's always just been a person in my life that I care for. I feel like I don't have a family or really know what having a family is like. I don't feel like I have uncles, aunts, or cousins. And I also can't imagine myself in a family. I can't imagine myself being a wife or mother, nor can I imagine myself as someone's daughter-in-law. While I acknowledge the fact that I technically have a 'family', I don't feel like I do. They're kind of just 'people I know'; not quite strangers, but not family or friend either.
Does anyone else feel this way?
