You’ve probably heard the expression about the apple falling from the tree. The idea is that most of us are going to resemble our parents in some capacity. While it’s true that we inherit much–good and bad–from our parents, it is also true that we are not them. We are not responsible for their mistakes, and we do not need to repeat the same bad habits.
Setting a Good Example
From the moment a baby is born, they’re learning. Our eyes and ears are open, our brain abuzz with problem solving. We are learning how to interact with others, and we’re learning how to process fear, jealousy, and anger. Unfortunately, many of our teachers in these subjects are far from the best examples, so much of what we learn is ineffective at best, and damaging at worst.
Bad Habits and Good
So let’s say you have a family history of drug or alcohol dependency. Or perhaps it’s depression or codependency. A lot of people try to deny these issues and fall right into them. A better approach, however, is to recognize them. To insulate ourselves from bad coping skills we may have been exposed to, we need to accept that we may have to readjust our perceptions. Paradigms are hard to reframe, but Florida psychiatric services can help us evaluate the tools we’ve picked up, good and bad, and how to create healthy coping skills moving forward.
It can be painful to look at a child in a dysfunctional family and realize that without tools or intervention, they may follow in the same footsteps. But it doesn’t need to be that way. If you worry that you are being given a bad example when it comes to coping mechanisms, substance abuse, or otherwise, please call us at (833) 596-3502 or send us a message to find a better path.