As much as being an only child can present with its own list of issues in adulthood, growing up in a big family isn’t always the rosy picture it is sometimes made out to be.
Whether you had lots of siblings or step-siblings, or even cousins or grandparents, living with you, it makes sense: When you’re dealing with lots of different people, things can get complicated. Either there are tons of different personalities that can clash and overshadow one another, or there’s a really strong family culture that makes it hard to embrace your individuality.
A vast majority of us can benefit from therapy, but when it comes to people who grew up in big families, there’s a specific set of issues that therapists see them bring up in sessions again and again. We spoke to two psychology experts to find out what these are, how they play out, and how people from big families can work through them.
They may struggle with complex family dynamics.
Show us one family that doesn’t have at least some tension come up at Thanksgiving, please.
