😶🌫️ What it means to have grown up with an emotionally indifferent parent
Growing up with an indifferent parent meant you were emotionally homeless—no lap to crawl into, no voice that said "I've got you" when you needed comfort most.
You may have learned that your feelings were treated like unwelcome guests in your own home. When you were hurt, scared, or angry, the adults around you either ignored you completely or made it clear that your emotions were inconvenient or wrong. You became fluent in reading others' moods while remaining illiterate in your own needs.
You might struggle now to know what you're actually feeling or needing in any given moment. When someone genuinely asks "How are you feeling?" there's often just static. You became so good at reading everyone else's emotional temperature that you forgot how to take your own, leaving you feeling like a stranger to yourself.