Our family (of origin) and its function or dysfunction directly impacts our adulthood. Functional families have certain values that define it as functional. They are the ability to freely express emotions, healthy boundaries, healthy emotional support, a healthy equal co-parenting partnership, accountability, trust, and building healthy relationships. A dysfunctional family has the following characteristics: poor communication, lack of empathy, poorly defined boundaries, denial, emotional or physical abuse, addiction and/or mental illness, and lack of predictability.
Much of the information we get from our family’s function or dysfunction is formative in helping us to develop coping skills, relationship building skills, and communication skills. Without a healthy family dynamic, individuals may end up having difficulty with these skills.
According to the Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention, for those of us who grow up in dysfunctional families, we often have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships, having a healthy positive self-esteem, difficulty trusting others, and often have difficulty expressing and regulating emotion. The trauma that occurs as a result of growing up in a dysfunctional family may have the effect of potentially causing an individual to have anger issues, substance abuse, and may repeat patterns of abuse within their new created family system, according to the Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention.
Through therapy that recognizes the family systems that have caused an individual to have a poor concept of self and understanding of healthy relationships, the therapeutic relationship can help aid the healing of an individual and stop the cycle of dysfunction.
Contact Strive Counseling Services, L.L.C. to learn about services suitable for you and your family at 205-721-9893.