So I have a question, I'm not in any sort of relationship right now, but in my past few I've just noticed a pattern in my own behavior and I'm wondering if it has anything to do with how I was affected growing up with my addicted father.
Whenever I have a girlfriend it never has been a lasting relationship simply because I get annoyed by their seemingly clingy behavior. But over time I have found that they're really not being clingy at all, they're acting like a normal person in a relationship, I'M the one that's withdrawn and not the "normal" one. It always bothered me when they depended on me for affection or constantly texted me or called me because they wanted to just talk to me. I've always been sort of a loner and being the child of an addict, I grew up having to depend on myself completely for everything, that includes things like affection and approval, I didn't ever get that from my dad or my mom really, not during my "formative" years. I'm fairly socially withdrawn though I'm getting better, so I think I'm just lacking some social skills in that area... So when a girl depends on me for those things, I guess my initial thought is, "Why can't you do this yourself? I did." Is anybody familiar with this? If so, how do you begin to reprogram yourself to be able to not feel like you're being suffocated and have a normal human response? (I'm still quite young and not too worried about it but just want some info for future reference)
Thanks
