đź’¸ What it means to have grown up with a chronically unemployed parent
Growing up with a chronically unemployed parent meant money worries were the constant backdrop to your childhood, where every purchase, bill, or unexpected expense caused stress that rippled through your entire family system.
You may have learned to need less, hide what you wanted, and take care of yourself because resources were always stretched too thin. Financial security felt like a mirage—always just out of reach, no matter how hard your family tried. You might have become incredibly resourceful, learning to make something from nothing and developing an acute awareness of when money was running low before anyone spoke about it.
You may have developed remarkable survival skills and the ability to thrive with minimal resources, making you exceptionally generous with others and skilled at distinguishing genuine needs from wants. But your nervous system learned to store scarcity like a biological alarm system that never fully turns off. Even with financial stability now, you might find it almost impossible to spend money on yourself without guilt, while being generous with others—a reflection of putting your own needs last and believing your worth is tied to your productivity.