With me, I have discovered an interesting pattern. I felt most comfortable with women who had similar character as my mother, and who treated me like my mother did. I also chose male friends who have similar character as my father, and treated me like my father does. The one exception was a girl who went through a similar childhood to my own, and who I thought reminded me of myself.

So if I continue to gravitate towards women who treat me like my mother, and men who treat me like my father, then I am surely doomed to a life of mistreatment. Fortunately the pattern seems to have changed for the better these past few months, I'm guessing because I've been working so hard to address my issues with the way I was treated by them.