🏠What it means to have grown up with stressful housing conditions
Growing up with stressful housing conditions meant that "home" was never a place of safety—just a series of temporary stops where chaos taught you that physical distance equals emotional peace.
You may have learned that space equals safety, whether it was hiding in your room during family fights or dreaming of escape while tension filled every corner of your living space. Making friends or putting down roots anywhere felt pointless when you might have to leave at any moment. You might have become a master of reading when situations were about to explode, developing fierce independence and learning that you could always count on yourself to create safety through movement.
You may have developed incredible adaptive skills—you can pack up your entire life in hours, start fresh anywhere, and thrive in uncertainty in ways that amaze other people. But even in stable housing now, you find yourself preparing for the worst or feeling like you don't quite belong. Your mental escape route is always ready, and when conflict arises in relationships, your first instinct is often to leave rather than work things out—because geographic solutions feel more familiar than emotional resolutions.