Oh my goodness, this is SO where I have been for years.
My whole childhood revolved around the needs of a self-involved, hypochondriac mother. Her feelings, her body, her needs, her "illnesses", her issues - HER all the time. Then I went and married an alcoholic - same problem, different person.
Now I am just too exhausted with it all to bother most of the time but I am torn. On the one hand, I do get awfully lonely for companionship {of both genders
} but when I look around and see what constitutes acceptable behavior these days I think maybe I am better off. So I don't know where I am going to end up on this one. I was always the type to want a 5 really good friends than 100 people I only kinda know.
Don't know where I am going from here on this one but thanks for bringing it up. I have some thinking to do.