⏰ What it means to have grown up with parents working long hours/multiple jobs
Growing up, you were emotionally homeless—no lap to crawl into, no voice that said "I've got you" when you needed comfort most.
Your feelings and needs were ignored or dismissed so often that you learned they didn't matter. While your parents worked tirelessly to provide financially, there was no one there to hold your emotional world—no one to notice when you were hurt, scared, or struggling. You became fluent in reading others' moods while remaining completely illiterate in your own needs.
This emotional abandonment taught you that your feelings were unwelcome guests in your own home. Your first instinct became to hide your hurts with the painful reflex of "Don't bother asking—they'll just make it your fault." You learned that love means swallowing your pain to tend to theirs, and that the only way to get attention is to create enough drama to outcompete what's already demanding their focus.