If a person grows up in a dysfunctional family they learn to survivie it, and some individuals actually develop some healthier ways of being and understanding things. Often this is what is called "the gifted child". However, what can stay with them is a void they experience that they don't quite know how to articulate or even what it means. There can exist this sense of "aloneness" and not really connecting normally even though a person can be very empathetic and helpful to others. This is what often comes from growing up in a dysfunctional family where it was never really "safe" to experience a connection with another family member, not what is considered a "normal" connection where it's actually safe to experience normal "bonding". That's where this hollow part developed for many who go on struggling and not knowing "how" to fill that empty part.