Richard Hogan: New partners, old habits, simmering tensions... families are complicated

Things get problematic when we think we have ownership of our adult children.  Parents can forget that they did it themselves when they met their partner and had children and moved off into their new world together

Richard Hogan: "Families are complicated. Parents can struggle watching as children who once adored them and looked up to them forge their own way in the world. Parents can feel rejected as their child finds their own identity free from their influence. Adolescence can be fraught with conflict as children push back against their parents' authority and identity."

Families are the most complicated system we will ever have to navigate.

Our vagal nerve signal can be quite depleted after making a monumental effort to reconnect with your family of origin. They say and do things that get under your skin like no one else. It’s almost like they have a shortcut to your trip-switch.