eggshells all the way down

https://lemmy.ca/post/61305067

My mom comes from a family like this, so I know what this is talking about. She has a lot of unhealthy behaviour that is a result of a pretty awful childhood.

OTOH, a certain amount of this is healthy. It’s good to have empathy and notice that your dad isn’t in the best mood. It’s kind to try to cheer him up. IMO the difference is whether your behaviour is driven by empathy or fear.

Yes! I think that gets lost a lot in this type of discourse. A lot of the time the real underlying issue is that our actions are being driven by fear rather than concious, measured choice.