Family obligation guilt: You're Not the Only One

Guilt about family duties or not doing enough

250 people have shared thoughts about this

I’m sitting on this itchy floral rental chair with my sister’s three-week-old draped over my shoulder and I can literally feel the spit-up soaking through my blouse. …

personality masking

I just wired the rest of the tuition for my cousin Luis. …

financial hiding

I let the phone ring. …

family obligation guilt

I think maybe I’m a bad mother. …

parenting insecurities

I spent the last forty-eight hours sitting in my home office—the one my parents helped me paint eggshell white so it looked professional—working on that big redesign for someone at the firm. …

social exhaustion

I spent forty goddamn years being the person everyone else needed me to be. …

family obligation guilt

You know that feeling when you’ve been staring at rows in Excel so long they start to look like the bars of a cage? …

career path regret

They get DESTROYED. …

career path regret

I’m sitting here at 2 AM staring at my terminal and all I can see is the way my mom looked in the rearview mirror last Sunday. …

family obligation guilt

I was standing there at my second cousin’s funeral—some guy I haven't seen since the Reagan administration—and all I could think about was how much I hate these fucking shoes. …

family obligation guilt

I’m sitting here in the dark with a glass of rye, still feeling the way that damn satin dress bit into my ribs like a cold wire. …

body image struggles

I am standing here with a lukewarm gin and tonic. …

career path regret

The "Dear Heavenly Father" and the "thank you for these blessings" and I’m just... …

faith doubts

I still wake up at four in the morning to bake the same rolls my father made fifty years ago. …

secret family resentment

The house is vibrating with that low-frequency hum of a refrigerator trying too hard. …

secret family resentment

He’s been on my couch for eighteen months, just... …

relief at loss

You spend the entire main course in a state of AFFECTIVE BLUNTING. …

secret family resentment

i was sitting at dinner tonight with my mom and dad and it was just so quiet like i could hear the clock ticking in the hallway and the sound of their forks hitting the plates and i just looked at… …

family obligation guilt

The house smells like bleach and old age, and I can hear Harold’s oxygen concentrator humming in the other room—thump, hiss, thump, hiss. …

family obligation guilt

It’s 2am and the whole house smells like cedar wood and glue and it makes me want to puke. …

family obligation guilt

Explore Related Themes

Hidden relationship doubtsParentificationParenting insecuritiesSecret resentment toward familySibling jealousyToxic loyalty

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I the only one who experiences family obligation guilt?▾
No — 250 people have shared anonymous thoughts about family obligation guilt on this platform. It's a common human experience that many keep hidden.
Is it normal to have thoughts about family obligation guilt?▾
These thoughts and feelings are more common than most people realize. By sharing anonymously, people often discover that what felt uniquely shameful is actually a shared human experience.
How can sharing anonymously help?▾
Research shows that expressing hidden thoughts — even anonymously — can reduce shame and help people feel less isolated. Seeing others share similar experiences normalizes what you're going through.

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