u/quartzqueen44

Hi, all! Whenever passing anniversaries, holidays, birthdays, etc are close by it always feels like my body remembers before my mind does. I feel weaker, more tired, emotional, sometimes I’ll even have flu like symptoms or legitimately come down sick before significant events. Then it will hit me how close something is. Can anyone else relate?

I’ve been in the role of caretaker, therapist, the strong one that now that life has shifted and I’m the one that needs support, I’m realizing that I don’t really have anyone to turn to. The only person who has truly made me feel seen and heard recently has been my therapist.

Every time I want to lean on somebody for support, for guidance, for help, I feel alone. I’m not sure where to turn. People are so used to me never needing anything, but always being there for them, that it seems as if they don’t even know how to support me. Everything always turns to them. Even when I’m sharing something that I need help with or something that I’ve accomplished, somehow people still twist it to them and their own needs.

I’m just feeling really lonely lately. I wish that I could be surrounded by more people that have consideration, kindness, and empathy for others.

Hi everyone. I’m so glad I found this sub Reddit. I had never heard the term glass children until now and I was amazed. This was my life and dynamic in my family system to a T.

I’m working with a therapist now and we’ve started to get into my childhood. I think one of the biggest triggers for me as I’m healing is the differences in the ways that I was treated in comparison to my brother. My brother was infantilized after receiving an autism diagnosis and I was parentified. My mother was the primary parent in the household who favored my brother. With me, she took everything I said or did as an attack. Any independence or boundaries I wanted she took as rejection. It truly felt like she had no concept of reality with the way her mood swings would cause her to create false scenarios about things that I did, said, even thought or felt. My dad was the conflict terrified enabler who worked all the time. He loved me, but he didn’t protect me. He benefited from me being expected to parent my brother, appease my mother, and take care of the household.

What stings the most is that my brother had zero responsibilities. When it came to me, I could never do enough to please my mother. She was never happy, always saying I never helped her ,which blew my mind every time. My brother did nothing. I did everything. Despite this, my brother and I have a healthy relationship. He has begun to see how toxic our upbringing was. But the differences in how we were raised still makes me grieve deeply for my inner child. I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever make peace with it.

Okay all I’m curious, what’s everyone’s thoughts on Vivienne Fairchild and her involvement in the storyline? Particularly when it comes to MC/Riley. I have about three right now:

1. She’s being shady. All of the gifts and proximity to the Fairchild’s circle is a plot of some sort.
2. Vivienne is projecting her grief onto Riley, but has no bad intentions.
3. She genuinely cares for Riley and is trying to show empathy because of her difficult past and now Lily’s passing.

I love to hear everyone’s theories!