In this episode, Patrick Teahan, MSW, explores nine rarely named but deeply damaging family dynamics that quietly shape childhood trauma and follow people into adulthood.
Rather than focusing on symptoms alone, Patrick breaks down the dysfunctional family systems behind them—the unspoken rules, emotional roles, and survival patterns that distort self-worth, boundaries, and relationships.
As a follow-up to 11 Oddly Specific Childhood Trauma Issues, this episode examines how growing up in emotionally immature or unsafe families affects perception, identity, and connection. From households where feelings are ignored but secretly run everything, to families that bond through complaining instead of change, Patrick explains how these patterns condition children to self-betray, overfunction, or disappear.
Listeners will learn:
- What happens when children grow up without mutually satisfying parental relationships
- How scapegoating, gaslighting, and chronic blame damage self-trust
- Why some families resist growth and punish success
- The emotional cost of always being “the responsible one”
- How gender roles and hierarchy reinforce dysfunction
- Why survivors are often told to “be the better person” with abusive relatives
Patrick also discusses recovery tools, including inner child work, repairing distorted perception, boundary development, and learning to step out of dysfunctional family roles.
If you grew up feeling unseen, unsafe, or emotionally responsible for others, this episode offers language, validation, and a clearer path toward healing.
Keywords: childhood trauma, toxic family systems, emotionally immature parents, CPTSD, family dysfunction, emotional neglect, scapegoating, parentification, trauma recovery, boundaries, inner child healing
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