Have you ever felt like you always have to be the responsible one? Did your family always expect that you’ll take care of things? If you are inclined to answer “yes”, you may relate to the psychological construct of being a parentified child. In this brief article, we will explore what parentification is and I will share some personal illustrations of what it can look like in real life.

To some degree, conflict is all but inevitable in all healthy, committed relationships, and we all will have experienced it at some time or another. But when in conflict, especially over silly day to day issues, why do we so often become anxious and angry, lose control of our thinking and our emotions, and often respond to one another as though we are threats to each other’s survival?