Therapist Says Hyper-Independence Is an Awkward Superpower Born From Childhood Neglect

What was said

"It is an awkward superpower. AN awkward super like, 'No, no, I can figure it out.' Like I've been figuring it out, but it is burdensome. Like to be the person who has to figure it out. Like even if I can, I don't always to. It's like, can somebody else do it? Like, I'm tired of it. I've been doing it since I was zero, right?"

Nedra Glover Tauab describes the paradox of hyper-independence developed by children of addicts or neglectful parents who had no trusted adults to rely on. She validates this survival skill as valuable while acknowledging its exhausting burden, explaining that even capable people shouldn't have to handle everything alone. The therapist connects inability to ask for help directly to early experiences where caregivers were inconsistent or incompetent.