An invisible switch is flipped. In the child’s unconscious mind, freedom to be who they are is no longer an option. It’s too unsafe and too destabilizing. With freedom off the table, two choices remain. The first choice is performance. They choose to play the part of someone who is worthy and hope to God no one finds out they’re pretending. The second choice is destruction. They choose to destroy themselves with the mentality of “If no one else cares about me, why should I?”
