The Advice Column I

Forty-Three

Advice Request
This girl is loving and caring toward her family, but she does not receive enough attention from them, and it bothers her so much that she cries a lot of the times. She feels selfish for yearning for their attention.

Answered Submission
Every human, whether we would like to admit it or not, craves attention from the people they love. The fact that you want to receive attention from your family is absolutely normal and NOT selfish!

When we, as humans, receive attention, we tend to feel satisfied to a certain extent because it makes us feel loved and cared for. In our head, we think, "Do you not care about me?" when no one bothers to pay attention to us, especially if the person means a lot to us. Since your problem lies with your family, then I would actually expect you to feel extremely hurt by the fact that don't pay attention to you when you need or even want it.

With all of this being said, your problem still hasn't been solved, so what now?

Communication. Our team always repeats the same thing over and over again: Communication is important.

If someone is making you feel a certain way, and you never talk to them about it, then things will not get better! You will have to talk to every member in your family and let them know about this problem. Also let them know how it makes you feel and how they can help you solve this problem. They might ignore you the first few times you try talking it out, but keep on trying and trying and trying for a while! If, at one point, you try so many times, but it still doesn't work, then you need to reach out to an outside source. Find a trusted adult, someone who can help you find a solution, and tell them about this problem. It's important you choose the right person to help you figure this problem out.

On a different note, humans also need attention from people who are not family members, so create strong friendships if you don't have any at the moment.

Try not to give up on your family, and always try to find ways to improve your relationship with them. Some methods that work on some people might not work on yours, and vice versa, so keep on searching for ways to overcome this challenge you are facing.

Good luck! :)

The Advice Column Team