Member-only story

Breaking Free from the Overfunctioning Trap: A Journey to Relationship Balance and Self-Discovery

Weirdly, getting married flicked a switch, and it felt like my job to look after my partner.

Precious Self
4 min readJan 7, 2024
Photo by Taylor Wright on Unsplash

“Jam or peanut butter”? I yelled angrily from the kitchen as my (then) partner played video games. His face lit from the screen glare, laughing with his friends amidst super-loud gunfire.

Relationships can get off balance. Nobody’s fault; just something to be aware of. Let me share a story…

Me? Oh yeah, I was embarrassingly clueless about relationship dynamics (and my own needs); I remember proudly doing everything.

It was like he was ill, and I was taking care of him.
Yet he was splendidly fine and well.

Not sure if you know Marilyn in the TV soap Home and Away?
That was me.
I was smothering; it removed the oxygen and left a vacuum.
I felt exhausted, but, my God, there was no stopping me!

Hovering, making lunch, cleaning, fetching things. Weirdly, getting married flicked a switch, and it felt like my job to look after my partner.

--

--

Precious Self
Precious Self

Written by Precious Self

Becoming the sovereign of your desires and dreams 👑 expressions on life, relationships, healing, peace, recovery, joy, pain. https://www.precious-self.com/home

No responses yet