As a general response to the thread:

On the days when I can find some distance from my painful family experiences, I am able to look at my parents, and wonder how their upbringing affected their ability to provide healthy and supportive parenting to me and my siblings.

Although I don't know for sure, I can make a pretty good guess that my parents were not raised in a fully supportive environment, and there is a good likelihood that their parents also faced similar challenges.

I get angry sometimes that they weren't self-aware enough to see how their behavior caused harm, but then I think they might be angry at their parents for the same thing.

Perhaps it is my imagination, but I do think that my work now with T, is dealing with generations of unhealthy patterns. In a way, I feel like I am working to heal a family legacy of dysfunction.

In simple language, it is my attempt to 'break the cycle'. On my better days, I see this as an honor -- that I am the one strong enough to face these issues. On my tougher days, I'm just sad and angry.

So, it is a process. But, through out the whole process a part of me has to hold onto the hope that my actions NOW can bring positive change not only for me, but for other members of my family, and stop this cycle of dysfunction.

to all