236 E. Foothill Blvd., Suite C | Arcadia, CA 91006
(626) 755-4059 | sabigail@protonmail.com

S. Abigail McCarrel, LCSW, DCSW

  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Abby
    • Services
    • Client Forms
    • Credentials:
    • FAQs
    • Rates & Insurance
    • Good Faith Estimate Notice
  • Specialties
    • Brain-Based, Parent Coaching Therapy
    • Online Therapy for Parents and Families
    • Family Therapy for Gifted Children
    • Counseling for Gifted Students’ Parents
    • Family Therapy: When Bad Stuff Happens
    • Post-Adoption Family Therapy
  • Contact Abby
  • Family Therapy Blog
  • Media

5 Signs of Childhood Emotional Neglect

August 16, 2021 by BBYMCCRRL75216 Leave a Comment

Young, caucasian girl waters plants in the garden by herself, a victim of childhood emotional neglect

For many, childhood is a time of wonder and adventure; a time when all needs are met and comfort is merely a whimper away, or childhood emotional neglect could just be a breath away.

And yet for others, childhood never feels quite safe or secure. For these people, emotional neglect was something that colored their early years and affects them as adults.

Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN) is the result of parents not responding enough to the emotional needs of their children. While it is an invisible form of suffering, as opposed to bruises and broken bones, it has lasting ramifications. And adults that have suffered from CEN have no idea that their current world is being created from a place of lack.

What Makes CEN Invisible?

There are a couple of specifics that make CEN invisible to the victim:

  • It can happen in otherwise loving families that have no material needs.
  • A parent’s failure to respond to your emotional needs is not something that happens to you as a child. It is something that doesn’t happen to you, and therefore, your brain has nothing to record as “proof.”

These adults find themselves creating lives that don’t quite feel right. They may investigate their childhoods, looking for clues, but usually come up with nothing, which can add to their sense of stress and anxiety.

In the end, they feel that something must be innately wrong with them. They take the blame, assuming that they are simply flawed and different from other people who seem to have their acts together.

If you identify with this feeling, here are 5 signs you grew up with Childhood Emotional Neglect:

1. Fear of Being Dependent on Others

Independence is a good quality to have. But having a deep-seated fear about depending on anyone for anything, never asking for help or support, is not healthy.

2. You Don’t Really Know Yourself

When you meet new people and have to tell them about yourself, do you find it difficult? Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? What you like and don’t like? Victims of CEN tend to not know themselves as well as they should.

3. You’re a People Pleaser

You spend a lot of time trying to meet other people’s needs and pay little attention to your own. You’re hard on yourself but soft with others.

4. You Feel Empty

This can feel different to different people. Maybe you feel an empty sensation in your gut, throat or chest. For some it comes and goes, for others, this feeling is there 24/7 – 365.

5. You Have Trouble Feeling Your EmotionsSmiling, Caucasian, female therapist in a blue top sitting at a wooden dining table help families during a family therapy session for emotional neglect in the family.

When your emotions were ignored as a child, you never learned how to feel them and express them in healthy ways. As an adult, do you find it hard to identify the feelings you feel, let alone express them to others?

Contact Abby:

If you’ve just had an A-ha moment and think you may have suffered CEN and would like to explore treatment options, please be in touch. There is hope and you CAN heal from the invisible wounds and start creating the life you were meant to live.

I offer a free, 20-minute phone consultation to see if I am the right therapist for you or your family,

(626) 755-4059

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Children Tagged With: am I emotionally neglecting my child, childhood emotional neglect, childhood emotional neglect and parenting, childhood emotional neglect depression, childhood emotional neglect treatment, childhood trauma, consequences of childhood emotional neglect, effects of childhood emotional neglect in adulthood, emotional neglect, long term effects of childhood emotional neglect, overcoming childhood emotional neglect, parenting after childhood emotional neglect, running on empty, symptoms of childhood emotional neglect

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

S. Abigail McCarrel, LCSW, DCSW



Phone: (626) 755-4059
sabigail@protonmail.com
Contact Abby

S. Abigail McCarrel, LCSW, DCSW

Phone: (626) 755-4059 sabigail@protonmail.com

Address
236 E. Foothill Blvd., Ste, C
Arcadia, CA19006

S. Abigail McCarrel : Welcome Home Family Therapy


The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Proud Member of TherapyDen

Get Started

Click on the button below to schedule a free 20 minute phone consultation with S. Abigail McCarrel, LCSW, DCSW.

Contact Abby

Privacy Policy
A Website by Brighter Vision