Originally Posted by
t_r
I find that I get comfort out of attention in relationships.
Everybody does, From the rest of what you write, you put more significance on it than most people.
I've been told that I'm "High maintenance" in previous relationships (whatever that means?).
It means that you don't take care of your needs by yourself so you have to be "maintained" or managed by people who should be busy managing themselves. They have enough to do. You take energy from others around you that should come from you, energy that should be used in taking care of your emotional well being. It's your job.
I can get insecure about things or nothing in particular. I like knowing that I have my partners attention and when I don't have it I feel sort of empty or neglected - which is silly and stupid.
It seems that you feel insecure in general. Everybody likes knowing they have their partner's attention, but not everybody feels empty or neglected when they don't. They are "low maintenance" because they are self-maintaining.
Your feelings are neither silly nor stupid. They are part of the "program" (like a computer program) that you developed while growing up. You copied some of it from family members and maybe a few other influential people. The rest you invented. Everybody does this.
All I'm saying is, is there something that can help me with this?
Surely there is, and you might and might not find it here. It's hard work, but most probably you can change it, at least enough to have you more comfortable in relationships.
You describe a family that doesn't communicate very much. Both of your brothers are non-communicators. Your parents, who have probably had their hands full with your brother, allow you to not communicate. So where are the people you can model and learn from?
Kids learn by modeling other people. You've been missing a model who shows you how secure people interact, manage themselves, and maintain close or independent relationships. With or without a model, everyone "writes" behavioral "software" in their mind that one day needs to be updated. The key is developing awareness of what you do (how the code is written) and learning how to "access the software" (trusting yourself to know yourself) so you can do the work. This is just a metaphor, so if it makes no sense, tell me.
Even if things were to change, if my family tried to communicate to each other more often - I don't know if I could go through with it. It's too weird. I wouldn't be used to it.
None of your family would be used to it. So what? If you want to change your relationships, you can start by gaining understanding of yourself, others, especially your family, and the way relationships work so that nobody is high maintenance and everybody feels secure, most significantly you.
If the idea of weirdness stops you from trying, let things be. You are used to this and might be content doing it forever. If you find that you are done being this way, start talking with your family. Be the one who breaks the pattern of non-communication and talk, listen, and treat with kindness what they tell you. Get into a live, in-person chat group. Take some courses on interpersonal communication and build yourself some new skills. Find what you need to develop relationships in which you feel secure.
High-maintenance, low-communication people rarely have comfortable, long-term, intimate relationships. If you are determined to change this part of your life, you can. If you don't feel able to do this yourself, go to a therapist and get help with the work.