Tiina63 says
When I hear others mention their partners/parents/siblings/children, I feel both incredibly alone and also angry, because inside I feel that I am being punished because I have noone
Well for a start, you aren't being punished. I think you know this, really. At least, I hope you do. Of course, you may be a serial killer or a have a 2nd life as a CIA/MI6/ ex-stazi (Stasi? can't spell it, sorry) hit person, which would explain these guilt feelings, but somehow I imagine that if you were, you might not be using this site. Or maybe you would.... now there's a thought... maybe this whole site is populated by trained assassins who just can't find a love interest??
(Shakes head, Wayyyyy too much coffee this morning...)
Ok. Here's my thing. Families - they are NOT like on 80% of the TV and movie portrayals. The Waltons, Touched by an Angel (anyone else ever thought that has a creepy vibe? Touched WHERE, exactly??).
Even where there is conflict, Hollywood often provides heart-warming resolutions, which are so unlikely as to make me puke. ...
Here's the deal. Families are HARD WORK. Ok, yes, I do know people who have had idyllic childhoods, wonderful kids who achieve and have wonderful kids of their own..... so THEY say. Maybe there are some families who do, but there are always potholes in the road along the way.
We see heart-warming Xmas (and thanksgiving) dramas on TV, but the reality of family gatherings often involves someone drunk, someone crying in the bedroom, someone hiding in the kitchen and a god-almighty row between the others. And if this isn't happening it's because lots of people are gritting their teeth and not saying what they really, really want to say..
Family - the people who, if you are down, have to take you in, kick you in the teeth, denigrate you and make you wish you had never been born....
So don't feel bad that you have none of this. Make your own friends, live your own life, find your own way. Take what people say about their wonderful families with a large pinch of salt..