Childhood Emotional Neglect also known as CEN, develops in childhood (as the name states) from not having your emotional needs met. It is when the parent ignores their child's emotions, (not validating emotions), and does not allow their child to express certain emotions, like anger for example, or even worse, punished for having emotions. It is a failure to act. This is what makes it "invisible", you may think you had a good childhood because nothing obviously "bad" happened, yet you struggle with your own emotions, and feel disconnected, unfulfilled and empty. You may even feel like there is something "wrong" with you, or like you are different from others. These are all signs of CEN. CEN was discovered by Dr. Jonice Webb, a psychologist expert and author. If this resonates with you, I highly recommend reading her book, Running On Empty: Overcome Your Child Emotional Neglect. There is also a free Childhood Emotional Neglect Support Group on Facebook you can join. And of course seeing a therapist knowledgeable in CEN would be helpful.
You can sign up for a free 15 minute phone consultation on my home page under “contact us“ or call 780-236-3313.
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