Never knowing if you'd come home to the loving parent or volatile and completely changed individual 🎃, you became a master at reading the room. Your worth came from being useful to them, from being the one who could spot trouble coming and smooth things over 👐 before they got worse. Your ability to care for others and see what people need is genuinely remarkable 💪. It saved your family from even more trouble.<br><br>Yet somewhere along the way, you learned that *love means healing others’ toxicity*, that loyalty is proven by how much of your `partner's dysfunction` you can tolerate. Now you find yourself drawn to people who need rescuing 🏥, because what else would anyone need you for?

The Rescuer

Chronic illness or disability in the family

Emotionally distant or unavailable parent

No safe adult to turn to for emotional support

Parent who experienced domestic violence as a child

Parent who experienced exploitation as a child

Parent who experienced loss of a parent as a child

Parent who experienced neglect as a child

Parent who experienced parental abandonment as a child

Parent who experienced sexual abuse as a child

Parent who experienced violence, assault, rape

Parent who was institutionalized or placed in foster care as a child

Parent with anorexia and eating disorders

Parent with borderline personality disorder (bpd)

Parent with extreme paranoia, delusions, or conspiracy beliefs

Parent with obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd)

Parent with self-harm or suicidal behaviors

Parent with undiagnosed or untreated personality disorder

Scolding, verbal abuse, put-downs in the family

Tools & Learning

🩹 The Rescuer

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