What are the patterns between your mother and father ? How were relationships modeled growing up ? I love both my parents but my impression is that my mother was somewhat controlling and stubborn. My Father was a bit of a people pleaser that gave into my mother’s frame a lot. I learned that relationships seemed very tough and it involved what appeared to be the male giving up freedom. The Patterns Between me and my Mom. My Mom was an excellent mother and very on top of taking care of me. I became perhaps overly attached you might say. And somewhat of a Momma’s Boy growing up. Naturally I asserted my independence more but to a Hyper-Independence degree. The Patterns Between Me and my Dad My Dad was an excellent father also who went the extra mile to take care of me in a positive way. I was always afraid of him getting angry. I shielded myself from this by adopting a nice guy persona and often times walking on eggshells. Child - Meet the Inner Child I had to adapt to the Family System by being the Good Nice Boy that followed directions. The needs not met were having my own voice and feeling a sense of power and empowerment. Also feeling safe in social situations, I was terrified by rejection and paralyzed by fear. What role did I play in the family system ? I became a master of tuning to the emotions of others in an attempt to feel safe and control situations. This ability would blossom into a borderline psychic ability. I in the process lost my own frame and voice to a certain degree. I also would eventually become the fixer as well, using my intelligence and problem solving ability to control situations. Who did you have to be to obtain love and approval ? I felt like I had to be perfect, high achieving, hyper vigilant, and extremely tuned into my surroundings. I also had a sense of being in a box as well. I felt like I had to stay away from social situations in order to feel safe and protected. What emotions were I not allowed to feel ? I did not let myself feel the sense of fear and powerlessness associated with being abandoned. I felt like I had to put on a nice guy front in order to not feel that intense fear. The front is an attempt to cover up that fear.