Following in Our Parent's Footsteps

No matter how much we try not to, it seems inevitable that we will do almost exactly what our parents did. My mom loved to sleep a lot in order to escape the pain of just living. I love to sleep a lot for the same reason. She always seemed tired and like nothing made her happy. I tend to be the same way. I'm always very serious and have a hard time really having fun. 

My boyfriend seems to be becoming very much like his dad too, even though he knows his actions weren't good. His dad was a parole officer, but ironically, he was always high on something. He died when my boyfriend was only 19. I think he just did too much of his pain pills that day. He had horrible back pain from working for a moving company, so it makes sense to me that he was always trying to numb that pain. Anytime he was not at work, he was high on pills or pot or something else. I think that is also just a thing in the city I live in, perhaps because it is a very ugly place to live. 

So he set the example of being high all the time for his son. Kids are always watching their parents and are always wanting to be like their parents someday. Now my boyfriend seems to always want some new pill to take his pain away. For him it is more emotional pain. I'm sure he has some physical pain, but it doesn't seem to be that bad. Why does he have emotional pain? His dad dying when he was young. Girls who things didn't work out with. Not having more money. His job being quite difficult. I try to be the perfect girlfriend/wife, but I'm sure I could do better. 

I have emotional pain too, plenty of it, but I prefer to just sleep my pain away. That is what my mom set the example for me to do, so that is what I do. We all have our own coping skill for life to handle the pain. Most likely, you do whatever your parents modeled for you. It is possible to break out of that mold. Pray about it. Ask God to help you find new coping skills for life that are more healthy, like doing creative things. It is not set in stone that you will be just like your parents. That is just the tendency that most people will follow if they don't try to do and be something different.