We tell train strangers about marriage problems but tell mothers everything’s fine. Vulnerability feels safe with strangers, risky with family.

Our emotional investment runs deeper with family. Their disappointment devastates us. Stranger judgment stays temporary; family judgment feels permanent.

Strangers hold lower expectations. They accept our failures. Family requires image maintenance.

We have no reputation to protect with strangers. They don’t know our past; our future is irrelevant. This anonymity grants freedom.

Perhaps most painful truth: we fear family’s unconditional love becomes conditional when they know our flaws.