What Is Emotional Neglect and How Does It Affect You?
Experiencing trauma early in life does not, unfortunately, end when you turn eighteen. Childhood trauma can follow you throughout life. When you suffer abuse at an early age, it impacts your growth and development, causing it to become a major issue. Emotional neglect is one example of a type of trauma that can have lasting impacts on you throughout your adult life.
Identifying emotional neglect and its impacts may be difficult to do, but with help, you can take strides to learn more about emotional neglect, its impacts on your life, and how you can overcome it. If you're interested in learning more about emotional neglect, keep reading.
What really is emotional neglect?
Perhaps you are familiar with emotional neglect. If you're not familiar, the definition is quite simple. Just as it sounds, emotional neglect occurs when our emotional and mental health needs are neglected. Many times, this is a side effect of childhood trauma in which a caregiver ignores or fails to meet a child’s emotional needs.
It can be very difficult to recognize emotional neglect. You may not think of your childhood as particularly dramatic but that does not mean you suffered an amount of emotional neglect. For example, if you grew up with a sick sibling, you may have experienced emotional neglect because your sibling received more attention than you did. This does not mean your parents are villains or bad people. It simply means that you did not receive the attention you needed.
How emotional neglect impacts your life
As you might have guessed, emotional neglect highly impacts your emotional health. It also has a large effect on your relationship health. If you're living with emotional neglect, you may notice that you have lower self-esteem or a poor self-image. You also may have problems regulating your emotions later in life.
One of the most noticeable impacts of emotional neglect is how you function in relationships. Since your needs were ignored as a child, you may have difficulty asking others for what you need in the future. You may be too self-reliant and unwilling to ask the people in your life for help—even if you need it. While being able to rely on yourself is a necessary skill to have, you should always be open and honest with your loved ones.
Learning to heal and cope with emotional neglect
Learning to heal from emotional neglect can feel like an uphill battle. Coping with this form of trauma may not come easy to you. However, once you begin implementing positive strategies into your life, you'll notice a discernible difference. Check out a few of the suggestions below.
Ask for what you need: You may not be very good at asking your partners for what you need but it is a skill you should have. Start small and work your way up. Soon, you’ll have no problem asking for help!
Work on meditation: Deep breathing and forcing yourself to be present at the moment are great ways to heal from emotional neglect. Focus on the now, not the past.
Find self-soothing practices: Emotional neglect may have affected your ability to soothe yourself. Even as an adult, it's so important to have a few strategies you can utilize to make you feel better. These techniques can include taking a warm shower or brushing your hair.
If you have been living with emotional neglect, I encourage you to reach out to a therapist who specializes in helping those living with the effects of childhood trauma or emotional neglect. I am happy to walk beside you down the path toward greater health. Reach out today to get started to learn more about trauma therapy.
