Well, as the title says, my family isn't exactly functional. Me and my brother are very close, but neither of us holds much regard for our parents...I don't want to seem ungrateful or disrespectful or just like a jaded teen, but sometimes I feel that I am and that my frustrations are groundless. Basically our mom feels as if she should have our respect no matter what, though she doesn't do anything to really merit it. She seems to feel like she's an exception to anything that makes me uncomfortable; I have personal space issues, but she feels like she can just invade my space whenever. She only really speaks to me if she needs something; she never genuinely asks about me or my interests and her tone with me is rarely kind. My dad isn't as bad; he's mostly in the background but can get mean and I don't feel very close to him at all. The problem is, I often feel like I'm just a moody teenager. I am depressed, so my moods are usually lower than they should be, and in all honesty I feel guilty for feeling this way about my parents. The fact that I'm not out to them and know they wouldn't support me only adds to the resentment. Idk...am I just being melodramatic about it all or could my feelings be valid? I sometimes can never tell when my emotions are genuine or a product of mental illness.
I understand you. I have a dysfunctional family but I'm not used to talk about it. Well, if you are feeling this way, you should really talk to them about. Tell them that you don't feel loved or respected, whatever is, say it. You can't solve it if you don't talk to them. To now if your family is a little bit of a mess, answer me this: Are they always mad at you? Have they constantly said words that hurted you (like call you retarded)? Have they apologized for it but kept doing it again? They have harmful adictions? Are they too absent? Are they always fighting with you because of something insignificant? If the answer is yes to most of these questions then you have a dysfuntional family. That's not a science, but it's what hapenned in my family. But you really need to ask yourself if you are a good son or daughter, that will help to answer your question. It's important to be autocritic and improve as a person. I hope that I helped with your question.
You might consider talking to someone outside of your immediate family, maybe an uncle/aunt or even school counselor. A professional counselor would be helpful in figuring out what is happening, but also remember to stick with friends/relatives who are unconditionally supportive to you ("family" of your own choosing). Make plans to go to college or some type of job training so you can get some real independence and learn you don't have to settle for a dysfunctional atmosphere.
