Family emotional health is on a continuum. All families fall somewhere between remarkable wellness on one end and debilitating dysfunction on the other.
Here are few of several measures:
Healthy families talk about anything and everything: love, sex, justice, peace, pollution, religion, literature, death, dying, money, and a lot more – there are no “no-go” areas. People talk as well as listen – people get to freely agree and disagree – and everyone gets a turn at some point. “We need to talk”, is celebrated.
Unhealthy families, if they talk, the conversation is scripted. Topics to avoid are known even though they are probably not clearly defined as “no-go” topics. People just know not to “go there”. “We need to talk”, fills family members with apprehension and fear.
Healthy families…