If your parents were angry, everyone in the family felt it. If your parents were anxious or sad, it disrupted your entire mood whether you wanted it to or not, it’s going to be your problem. Your parents' emotions become your responsibility. You now live in a scary space where there are absolutely no emotional or physical boundaries. You are not allowed to think about what’s best for you, your role is to please and take care of others. You are now responsible for others' wellbeing. If you speak out or act otherwise you are shamed, guilted, and hurt. Your parents' lives center completely around you. They overshare personal experiences and feelings in a way that creates unrealistic expectations, unhealthy dependence, and confused roles.They treat you more as their friend or therapist, relying on you for emotional support, and share inappropriate personal information at young ages that affect you developmentally. You don’t have a strong sense of who you are and you absorb other people’s feelings and feel like you need to fix other people’s problems. Let’s not even begin to say what this does to your relationships, friendships, and social development. If any of this sounds familiar - you may have been a part of an enmeshed family system.