09/07/2025
“But nothing really bad happened in my childhood... so why do I feel this way?”
This is one of the most common and most tender entry points into the realization of childhood emotional neglect.
Emotional neglect isn’t the presence of harm.
It’s the absence of attunement, support, and co-regulation.
It’s growing up in an environment where your emotions weren’t seen, named, or held — even if your basic needs were met.
As a result, many adults find themselves struggling with:
• Unexplained anxiety or shutdown
• Difficulty identifying feelings and needs
• Deep discomfort with vulnerability
• A sense of being “too much” or “not enough”
• A grief that seems to have no clear source
• A body and nervous system that is sensitive and frozen
• Pain and dissociation that you can’t access or access too much
And when you finally start to name it…it hurts.
You begin to grieve the guidance, softness, and emotional safety you didn’t know you missed until now.
This grief is not a sign of regression.
It’s a sign of healing.
Making space for what wasn’t there is painful — but it’s also reparative.
It allows you to begin meeting those long-neglected needs in the present, with yourself and others who can hold space for them.
You were never meant to carry that absence alone.
And now, you don’t have to.
❤️🩹
