If the problem is that Dad wasn’t good enough , then the solution is a better Dad . That keeps hope alive. But if the truth is that Dad was who he was, and that hurt , then we have to face a harder task: healing without him. The game gives us an illusion of control. If we just analyze enough, compare enough, feel angry enough, maybe reality will bend.
It’s called The Ideal Father Game .
We’ve all played it. Some of us started in childhood, others in therapy. The rules are unspoken, the scoring system is emotional, and the prize is a phantom limb of validation. the ideal father game