Therapy for Childhood Emotional Neglect in Illinois

Therapy for childhood emotional neglect can help you understand why you struggle with feeling unfulfilled despite your efforts at getting better.

According to attachment theory, healthy child emotional development requires parents to view their children as individuals with unique thoughts and feelings. By paying attention to their children in this way and responding appropriately to their emotions, children feel comforted and connected. This kind of validation helps one feel emotionally safe and builds lasting confidence.

Childhood emotional neglect happens when you don't get these things enough from your parents while you're growing up or when this kind of behavior from your parents is missing during crucial moments of your life. Consequently, you miss out on building inner security and instead can start acting in perfectionistic ways that lead to burnout. Like most of the clients at Live Lekko, you can also begin to show anxiety and depression symptoms as you try to deal with this emotional stress. 

Did You Experience Emotional Neglect During Your Childhood?

The tricky part about childhood emotional neglect is that you may not know it happened. You'll tend to blame yourself and think there's something wrong with you that keeps you feeling this way. It can be challenging to acknowledge that something was missing while growing up, especially if your family was not abusive and your parents met your physical needs. But now we know that this is not enough, especially for healthy emotional development. 

If you experienced childhood emotional neglect, you likely didn't learn healthy emotional skills. And in place of them, you learned to cope in ways that, while they might have helped you get through childhood, are starting to have significant negative consequences. 

Childhood Emotional Neglect Symptoms in Adults

If you are dealing with childhood emotional neglect symptoms as an adult you might experience the following.

• You often struggle with feeling empty.
• Feeling like you're not doing enough despite having success.
• Struggling with self-discipline. 
• You feel awkward accepting comfort from others
• Feeling like you are disconnected even when in relationships. 
• Being unsure what to do with your feelings and being easily overwhelmed by your emotions. Avoidance feels much more manageable. 
• You're uncertain of your interests and feel like you don't know yourself. 
• You struggle with self-compassion. 

Therapy for childhood emotional neglect

Realizing you've experienced childhood emotional neglect can feel isolating, but you're not alone. Others are coming to terms with this same realization every day, just like you. And just like you, they are seeking support and finding healing with an online therapist.

In treatment for childhood emotional neglect, you'll increase your self-awareness and your ability to identify your emotions accurately. As a result, you'll build self-compassion and start communicating your needs. These skills help you feel more connected to yourself and others. In therapy for childhood emotional neglect, you'll also be able to examine your family interactions and work through behaviors that support healthy relationships. 

What keeps clients from seeking support from an online therapist in Illinois?

Some things that keep my clients from seeking therapy earlier are: believing all families experience childhood emotional neglect, not wanting to blame their parents, getting stuck focusing on the past, and feeling guilty that they might be passing on neglectful behaviors to their own kids. I understand these points, and working through these fears is part of our work together at Live Lekko in Illinois.

Childhood emotional neglect does not occur in all families, and it does not stay in your past. Instead, it makes current feelings heavier and relationships more complicated. Even if your parents are doing their best, you can still miss out on essential emotional development. By validating your experience of childhood emotional neglect, you accept reality and start making change possible. 

With treatment for childhood emotional neglect, you take responsibility for your behavior and break harmful generational patterns. In addition, you gain healing and emotional freedom. From this, you will finally be able to move on from your past into a more fulfilled and connected life. 

Ready to Start Therapy for Childhood Emotional Neglect in Springfield, IL?

The effects of childhood emotional neglect can follow you into your adult life. It is possible to break this cycle with the help of a specially trained and caring therapist. In order to start treatment for childhood emotional neglect at Live Lekko follow these steps.

1. Call or text 217-402-7817 for a free online consultation at Live Lekko
2. Start meeting with your online therapist in Illinois
3. Gain healing and emotional freedom

Other Therapy Services At Live Lekko in Illinois

Along with treatment for childhood emotional neglect, I also provide depression treatment, anxiety treatment, and therapy for stress and burnout. As well as therapy for women, perfectionism, grief, and people-pleasing. As an online therapist in Illinois, I am here to support you in your healing journey. Whether you are in Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, Chicago, or rural Illinois I can help with online therapy.