 Childhood trauma can be invisible to others. It can even be unrecognizable to victims themselves. Did you know that parentification is a form of invisible childhood trauma? This is the kind of trauma that forces a child to take on the role of a caregiver. They have to emotionally act as the adult while the parent depends on the child for emotional support while seldom giving any back. Someone who's been parentified may also act as a caregiver to their siblings as well. Some may choose to look at some positive effects that can occur such as being highly responsible, but there are some troubling negative results as well. So how do you know if you or someone is being parentified? Well, here are seven signs you or someone you know was parentified during childhood. Number one, you like feeling in control. Do you feel a strong need for control? Does this intense urge to be in control take control of your life sometimes? According to licensed psychotherapist Whitney Goodman, a sign that you were parentified as a child is if you like to feel in control. Someone who's been parentified as a child may have gotten used to taking control of certain decisions or situations. This may result in a feeling of wanting to be in control often as an adult. Number two, you never felt like you could express your negative feelings. Did you ever have a hard time expressing any negative feelings you had as a child? You were so busy listening and reassuring your parents they were experiencing their negatives that perhaps you didn't want to make things worse by venting about your own. This may happen when a child is the emotional caretaker. They simply feel their emotional venting would make things worse so they listen to their parents vent about how they're feeling instead. Number three, you grew up with a heavy weight on your shoulders. Think back to your childhood. Who carried the responsibility? Did that weight rest on your shoulders? If you grew up feeling as if you had to be responsible, this can also be a sign of parentification. While this can have a negative impact, there is hope for some good to come from this as well. Psychotherapist Whitney Goodman explains in an article for Psychology Today that there are also qualities that arise through parentification that may benefit you in certain areas of your life, like being responsible or a great caregiver. But she does note that we have to find the right balance between responsibility and structure, play and fun. Number four, don't have any memories of being a kid. Let's go back to childhood memories. What are your fondest ones? What about some fun, relaxed childhood memories? Do you have many of them? Do you remember feeling like a kid most days and being able to do things other kids were doing? If you don't remember many memories of being a kid, it could be because you were too busy with other responsibilities to have any childhood fun. Number five, you struggle with relaxing and playing. You're older now, and while you aren't necessarily playing with toys anymore, you do have a hard time playing and relaxing in a moment of fun. An impromptu trip or a game makes you nervous and you find it hard to let loose and enjoy spontaneous, silly moments. This, along with other points, could be a sign of parentification. Number six, you feel you need to take on the role of peacemaker. During an argument, are you the peacemaker? When you see others argue, do you feel you need to maintain the peace? Those who have been parentified as a child had to take on a caregiver role, which means they may have had to resolve certain situations or problems quickly to keep the peace in the household. Now, as an adult, this responsibility to maintain peace likely has transferred over. Number seven, a great deal of empathy. Taking on the emotional role of a parent or caregiver at an early age can provide someone with a great deal of empathy for others. They try to look at everyone's perspective and take both situations into account. Since they're also often taking the role of peacemaker, being empathetic is a necessary skill and trait. If you feel you can connect to others easily and are highly empathetic due to your caregiving childhood, this could be an additional sign of parentification. One or two of these signs alone may not mean that you've been parentified, but if you relate to several of these points, it may be a fair idea to ask yourself what role you were taking on during your childhood. Were you the child or the responsible adult? If you feel you've been parentified, finding a healthy balance between structure and a bit of play in your adult life might be a good goal. If you're struggling with the trauma, it could be a good idea to talk to a mental health professional, such as a counselor or a therapist for help. Recognizing and acknowledging these feelings is already a great first step towards healing. So do you relate to any of these signs? Did you know what parentification was before this video? Let us know in the comments below. We hope you enjoyed this video and if you did, don't forget to click the like button and share it with a friend. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this. As always, thanks for watching.