Signs of Childhood Emotional Neglect Low self-esteem. Difficulty regulating emotions. Inability to ask for or accept help or support from others. Heightened sensitivity to rejection.
For example, abuse or neglect may stunt physical development of the child's brain and lead to psychological problems, such as low self- esteem, which could later lead to high-risk behaviors, such as substance use.
Childhood emotional neglect may impact your adult relationships by making it hard to trust and become close to others, and increasing your chance of experiencing depression and anxiety. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse.
Childhood trauma in adults also results in feeling disconnected, and being unable to relate to others. Studies have shown that adults that experience childhood trauma were more likely to struggle with controlling emotions, and had heightened anxiety, depression, and anger.
The Key Sign of Childhood Emotional Neglect
Perhaps the most pervasive sign is a sense of numbness or emptiness. This can impact you in a variety of ways, e.g. you experience detachment from your feelings and the feelings of others.
Suffering from chronic or ongoing depression. Practicing avoidance of people, places, or things that may be related to the traumatic event; this also can include an avoidance of unpleasant emotions. Flashbacks, nightmares, and body memories regarding the traumatic event.
Childhood trauma takes several forms, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and emotional neglect. Emotional neglect is complex trauma that can result in complex post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
Traumatic experiences can initiate strong emotions and physical reactions that can persist long after the event. Children may feel terror, helplessness, or fear, as well as physiological reactions such as heart pounding, vomiting, or loss of bowel or bladder control.
Some effects of emotional neglect are: Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. More frequent negative emotions like anger, guilt, shame, and fear. Higher risk for substance use disorders and addictions.
Other manifestations of childhood trauma in adulthood include difficulties with social interaction, multiple health problems, low self-esteem and a lack of direction. Adults with unresolved childhood trauma are more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide and self-harm.
Studies show that those who have experienced abuse and neglect at an early age have a harder time learning, forming, and maintaining attachments and relationships. Mental health takes a hit as well, so depression, anxiety, and stress are likely to be in the picture.
If they are in a situation where they do not receive normal love and care, they cannot develop this close bond. This may result in a condition called attachment disorder. It usually happens to babies and children who have been neglected or abused, or who are in care or separated from their parents for some reason.
Typically, emotional neglect is more difficult to assess than other types of neglect, but is thought to have more severe and long-lasting consequences than physical neglect.
Trauma often manifests physically as well as emotionally. Some common physical signs of trauma include paleness, lethargy, fatigue, poor concentration and a racing heartbeat. The victim may have anxiety or panic attacks and be unable to cope in certain circumstances.
Feeling jittery, nervous or tense.
Women experiencing PTSD are more likely to exhibit the following symptoms: Become easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions, experience numbness. Avoid trauma reminders.
The good news is that it's completely normal not to remember much of your early years. It's known as infantile amnesia. This means that even though kids' brains are like little sponges, soaking in all that info and experience, you might take relatively few memories of it into adulthood.
Adults can generally recall events from 3–4 years old, with those that have primarily experiential memories beginning around 4.7 years old. Adults who experienced traumatic or abusive early childhoods report a longer period of childhood amnesia, ending around 5–7 years old.
Neglect is also traumatic, and so is the loss of a parent, a serious childhood illness, a learning disability that left you doubting yourself, too many siblings, a detached, emotionally unavailable, or anxious parent, even your parent's own childhood trauma.
In the emotionally neglectful family, the HSP learns they are overly emotional. They don't know that their emotions are personal expressions of who they are. Instead, they learn that they are different, damaged, weak, and wrong.
Childhood emotional neglect can damage a child's self-esteem and mental health. It teaches them their feelings are not important. The consequences of this neglect can be deep and last a lifetime.