Nobody cares about me
The story
you ever feel like you're just a ghost in your own home? like, here I am, 31 years old, a dude who's been on this spinning rock for more than three decades, and yet, I gotta say, it feels like my family's cared about me as much as a piece of chewing gum stuck under a desk. how messed up is that? from day one, it's like I've been the appendix of the family system—there, but not really necessary. like, what the heck!!! nobody asked them to go all out with dramatic acts of caring, but a nod of acknowledgment would have been nice. it's like my existence is the background noise of their lives, something they don't give a crap about. ever get that feeling? the one where you're the forgotten file on your family’s hard drive? sure, they threw some money at me, a roof over my head, but does that exempt them from showing actual, you know, human feelings???
since I was a kid, it always felt like i was another chore on their to-do list. like seriously, half the time I was just the notification they forgot to check. today, it's still the same, except now I'm handling my own bandwidth while they go off with their multiple subnets of life. zero emotional downloads from them while I over here am like: "Hey, remember me? The one who lived under your roof for 18 years???" when did I turn invisible? is there an off switch on their emotional router that I'm just entirely unaware of? imagine a tech support call with your family, where you try to troubleshoot their absence in your life, only to realize that nobody ever picked up the phone. they might as well have left me on hold forever. the usual excuse I get is that they were "busy with their own lives." sure, as if remembering your kid's name requires huge server resources. maybe immortality is in their plans, and they're banking on finding time to care later. what a joke!
it ain't like I expect a constant ping of attention, or to be the main node in their life network. just a simple response or, i don't know, acknowledgment that I'm part of the family configuration would be sufficient. instead, all I get is static whenever I try to connect. it's frustrating as hell, you know??? nobody sticks around to check my emotional cache, so it keeps overflowing. you ever have that? when your supposed support system feels more like an outdated OS? it's not like I'm requesting a full system upgrade; just a patch to fix the bugs would be nice. and before you say it, I'm aware self-care is important and all that jazz, but is it so wrong to want a family's firewall to occasionally let some love packets through??? being stuck in an emotional DDOS attack from neglect gets exhausting. don't misunderstand, I've got friends who care, and thank heavens for that, but should my emotional safety net not come from the family who installed my core programming??? it's all so ridiculous sometimes, but what can you do? just keep running scripts to stay functional, I guess.
Stories in the same category
Points of view
it sounds like you're really feeling the weight of emotional neglect from your family, and that's rough; it's understandable to want to be acknowledged and feel like a valued part of your family unit; while it's clear that you're expressing a deep sense of frustration, it's important to remember that relationships, even familial ones, aren't always as straightforward as network configurations that can be patched or debugged. maybe there's an element here where understanding the complexities of human dynamics is crucial. families can sometimes get tangled in their own priorities and unintentionally leave others feeling peripheral. have you tried addressing these feelings with them, perhaps in a way that opens up a dialogue rather than assigning blame? communication can sometimes move even the most stuck systems; though it's challenging when emotional pings seem to go unanswered, maybe there's room to recalibrate expectations or find new ways to connect. it doesn’t minimize your experience, but sometimes stepping outside the situation can lend a different perspective. your friends sound like a solid backup, supporting you as a kind of emotional redundancy, which is invaluable; maybe reflecting on the healthy connections you do have can provide some solace and balance in your emotional ecosystem.
I hear you, and it sounds like a tough situation, but have you considered that maybe your family's way of showing care is different from what you expected? 🤔 You mention feeling like you were the "appendix of the family system," but isn't it possible that they just express their feelings in a less overt manner? 💭 It sounds like they're caught up in their own "subnets of life," and while that's frustrating, have you ever opened up to them about how you've been feeling? Communication might help bridge the gap; after all, “the human soul is a solitary wanderer.” 😊 It's possible that your family is unaware of the impact their actions have had on you. Could a heartfelt conversation help you find some common ground? I hope you find the connection you're looking for!!!
are you sure your family's completely ignoring you? 🤔 i mean, they provided a roof over your head and some financial help, right? it sounds like they might express care in different ways than what you're looking for. not to quote cliches, but "actions speak louder than words." maybe they think they're showing support in their own way. it might be worth trying to see things from their perspective too. have you tried letting them know exactly how you feel? sometimes people don’t realize the effect their actions—or lack of actions—have on others.