Could someone be addicted to painful, dysfunctional relationships?
Long after a relationship with a man had ended, I clung to the emotional pain, often wondering if it were some sort of "addiction?"
My upbringing was in an unhappy home, never seeing or receiving affection. As a very small child, I witnessed often violent fights between my parents, while hiding behind a door or wall.
As a teacher, I believe the earliest years are the most formative.
Now, in the present, I am so free, so free of emotional chaos, and it is a foreign feeling to me, but I like it! At the same time, I look at my history in relationships, and do wonder if I am not addicted to pain.
Patty