What has become clear to me over time is that genuine and loving connections are not the sought after or desired goal in toxic family systems. My parents thrived on the divide-and-conquer technique. My dad consistently and persistently spoke poorly about my mother, my brother, my brother’s wife—in fact, whoever he saw as getting in the way of him being the center of attention. My mother made my dad the “bad guy,” and whenever I stood up for myself or against her in any way, she would cryptically say, “You’re just like your father.” My mother talked poorly to me about everyone in my family
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Holy SHIT relatable
