On this forum, it is often the case that people hope to find life help and advice from Epicurean ethics. One of the top existential issues in the ethics of Epicurus is how to deal with the fear of death.
It may be difficult for an individual who has experienced family trauma to fully appreciate the existential philosophy that Epicurus presents ("death is nothing to us" which may be heard as sounding "stoic" rather than observation of causation). And if that person hears it as a call to deny emotions and feelings, that will be the incorrect way to apply it. They will likely need to deal with trauma recovery first before they can fully dive into applying the awareness of cause and effect, within applying "death is nothing to fear".
An individual may have experienced low level trauma or high level trauma, and I found this interesting video:
I want to encourage people to get some help if they need it from a professional therapist, and then come back to revisit the existential aspects of Epicurean philosophy.
Also, Epicureans would no doubt see a group of people coming together with a shared worldview of Epicureanism as a kind of secure, supportive, and enjoyable experience. So that group would have behaviors which are safe, loving, caring, happy, and enjoyable (and the opposite of toxic). And so imagining the nurturing of that in oneself and others to share within the group, which would be almost like a second family in which one creates the atmosphere to "live like the gods".
(Edit at 4:20 pm ET in second paragraph).
