The holidays are marketed as the most wonderful time of the year, yet they are often anxiety-provoking, even for people with relatively healthy family relationships. For trauma survivors, December can feel less like a Hallmark movie and more like a psychological crime scene, especially for those with a long-standing family scapegoat subscription.

The family scapegoat is most likely not the brother still living in Grandma’s basement; not the aunt who cries when the spotlight drifts from her casserole; and not the cousin who treats every gathering like an audition.

Scapegoat roles are often assigned based on arbitrary factors such as resemblance to a parent, physical characteristics, appearance, birth order, gender, or medical or psychiatric conditions. Parents may project their own repressed desires, shame, or unresolved emotions onto one child. Children who are selected as the scapegoat often........

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