10 Common Traits Of People Who Were Emotionally Neglected By Their Parents

Childhood Emotional Neglect is something several people go through. It's what happens when parents fail to accommodate their son's or daughter's emotional needs when raising him/her.

That's something that might occur in an otherwise loving and caring family. It isn't something that happens to you as a kid, well not technically because it's mainly just your parents' failure to respond. You might not realize it has happened in your past because since you cannot see it, your brain doesn’t even record it as an event.

As an adult who has been emotionally neglected as a kid, you will often feel like something is not quite right. You will assume that whatever is wrong is your fault, but it is not. Once you truly understand the issue, you will be able to find a solution to help you heal your past wounds.

Here are ten signs that you were emotionally neglected by your parents as a child:

1. You struggle with your self-discipline.

Even if you believe something is right, you have trouble standing up for it. You find it hard overcoming your own weaknesses, and you are not quite sure why.

2. You often feel empty.

This can also be a numbness to people who were emotionally neglected as children.

3. You are too proud to rely on others.

You feel like there should never be a need to depend on others for anything at all. Also, you struggle with asking for help even when you truly need it.

4. You often want to spend time alone.

You like spending time on your own because you fear that most people just don’t understand you. You frequently feel like you don’t fit in with others. While you would love to have many true friends, you falsely think that there isn't much room for connecting with other people.

5. You feel sad from time to time for no obvious reason.

You are not unhappy because something bad has happened. Unhappy moments just show up out of nowhere and unexpectedly. You don’t know how to explain why your mood changes so often and that drives you mad.

6. You have trouble analyzing your feelings.

You sometimes find it hard to control and analyze your emotions. Especially when you feel things you shouldn't feel, you can't even tell why this is happening. Even when you are happy, you still struggle with it. Your feelings are odd and overwhelming in every possible way.

7. You are much harder on yourself than you would be to others.

You have no compassion for yourself; still, you have plenty for anybody else. While you may let a co-worker know that their mistake was easily fixable, if you make the same mistake, you feel like it's the end of the world.

8. You feel you're flawed.

As mentioned before, you feel like something is wrong with you, but you don’t know exactly what it is. You think the problem is yourself, but it is not, not really. It's how you grew up and the emotional trauma that has left you.

9. You feel it's easier to love animals than people.

The reason why animals are much easier to get along with and to connect with is the fact that they will never judge you or leave you. Animals love you no matter what. You fear people because you know they can hurt you if they want to.

10. You usually feel like you are on the outside looking in.

Parents who don’t notice their children’s feelings or simply decide to ignore them are sending a cruel message that their children's emotions do not matter. As an adult, you will possibly continue on this harmful path by not considering your own emotions.

However, your emotions are real, and they matter. You should understand that you are not doing anything wrong. Remember that you matter and take your emotions into your own hands. It will change your life.