"I hate to say it but when I ask for help I get a bad response and it just reminds me of all the times I asked for help and no one understood that I was serious. And then all the times where I didn't ask for help because I figured it would just disrupt others around me and create even more issues and damage, well, I have to say, that is exactly where I am.
I am totally frustrated. I am trying to tell people around me that I am getting worse, no one is listening, no one gets it.

If I didn't have people here that understand how painful it can be and the emotional/psychological struggle, I don't know what I would do.
Open Eyes"

When I grew up, our dysfunctional family did not communicate effectively; thus, we earned the title of dysfunctional. I married and repeated the pattern until I got into therapy where I learned to use I-statements:

"When you do __________, I feel ________." (stop there if the feeling is positive; this validates the actions of another in a positive reinforcement. Continue if you are having a negative feeling by saying) "I would like you to do __________instead."

Powerful way to own your needs out loud, negotiate the fairness of such a request, and then get on with your life by not giving your power away resentfully. Instead you will be sharing your power with someone who is worthy of your respect and wants to build a healthy, trusting relationship. Should you need "prompts" in how to do this, there is a game called Emotional Bingo which guides to various feelings with a deck of cards (about $40 online).

Another excellent and inexpensive board game is called Ungame. Comes with some general get-to-know-ya' cards. I've been with my husband almost 50 years and we learned some new things about each other, and also reflected on many sweet things we already knew. You can add additional "pocket" cards for Families, Kids, Couples, Teens, etc. The board game is only $8 or so and the added pocket cards are less than that through Amazon. It's a totally non-competitive game, which is a nice change, for those of us who have had to compete for emotional crumbs in struggling families who didn't know how to thrive. Many of our family members got this game for Christmas this year. May you find N-Joy-ment in the journey! Susan Quinn