Dysfunctional Environments: What Is A Dysfunctional Environment?

When it comes to describing a dysfunctional environment, it might help us to also look at what a functional environment might look like.

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Functional Environment

A functional environment then; would be an area that is conducive to growth. Somewhere that not only supports and encourages an individual to be themselves, but also allows them to.

Here, one can express who they are and feel safe doing so. Positive feelings and thoughts are also more likely to occur in this environment.

Dysfunctional Environment

The dysfunctional environment on the other hand would be somewhere that doesn’t allow for the above to happen. Where the individual doesn’t feel supported or acknowledged in anyway, let alone in a way that honours who they are. This might be an environment that forces one to constantly compromise their values and themselves.

The word door mat comes to mind here; with boundaries being nonexistent in this environment. Feeling and thinking negatively is also something that might seem to just happen; coming on like a parasite, without reason or warning. Despair is also another common consequence from being in this type of environment.

Conscious And Unconscious Environments

With both of these examples we can see that one is an environment that could be classed as conscious and the other is an environment that is the complete opposite.