On leave and seeing family over the 4 day. Things have been on the up for me in recent times. I’m making progress in my field in the Army, I have good friends in the Army and good guys that I work with. I can sense that I’m starting to feel happy again.

Then the 4 day rolls around and I’m realizing more and more that I love my parents and little sister but absolutely hate spending time with them. They weren’t really present for all the bullshit I went through in college and my first year in the Army. They are loud, they complain about menial shit, they are fat and happy, they don’t understand any of my problems, and they even judge me for shit like my tattoos and my dating life.

I feel trapped and like there’s a wall closing in every-time I’m around them. Does this get better with time? I don’t want to completely disappear but I’m happy when I’m not around them and feel like a piece of shit because of that.