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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Childhood Emotional Neglect

37 replies

CENqqq · 13/03/2024 22:38

I’m in my 40’s and just coming to terms with the fact I was neglected and emotionally abused as a child by my parents. I still kind of believe it wasn’t that bad but at times I wonder how much I’m dissociating from it. Has anyone else experienced this? What has helped?

My mum constantly told me she didn’t want me as I was the wrong gender and she wanted a boy. I was left alone in the house from a very young age. I remember being around 3 and climbing on cupboards to get food for myself. My hygiene was not great and I remember being picked on by kids in school calling me smelly. My mum isolated me and I was never allowed to have friends or talk to anyone. I never went to a birthday party in my entire childhood. I was clever and got good grades and went to university but it was such a terrible experience as I stayed in my room and didn’t know how to interact with people. It makes me so sad as I was so in need of love and support and it would have just taken a small bit of effort from my flat mates to include me but they didn’t. I grew up feeling different from everyone.

sitting here now I feel I’m still imprisoned, I just go to work and come home and I try to make a good life for myself and my 2 kids but I feel so alone. I just don’t know how to start living my life

OP posts:
Amazedtobesane · 14/03/2024 12:57

OP, your post rings a bell with me too.

Like you, my childhood was full of neglect and if my mother wasn't ignoring me, she was hitting me. This started about the age of six and by the time I was 10 things were bad enough that my dad sent me to boarding school. Only he knew nothing about boarding schools and didn't realise how harsh and cold the school was that he'd chosen and I didn't have the words or the courage to tell him. It was wretched and I hated it. I've wondered many times if I'd have been better off as a ward of the state, at least I might have had a bedroom of my own and someone to talk to.

Fast forward, I began serious work on myself in my late 20s and realise getting over and through this stuff is life long work. Early life neglect/trauma rewires your brain and you have to find a way of fixing that. For me, meditation, journaling, physical work, questioning, reading everything I could find on the subject. Lack of trust and realising that if you really want something done, then do it yourself has meant I haven't had therapy or medication and have preferred to figure things out in my own way and it's worked quite well. I'm in my 60s now, in a solid very long term relationship, do a job I love and consider myself sane - result, or what.

I also started Inner Child work, as described in the link below. In that work, you basically do the job of parenting yourself, sort of becoming your own mother, and you do it properly this time. If you have any photos of yourself as a child that helps to focus on the time things happened. You meditate on your younger selves and comfort them. Create scenarios where you meet with your younger self and do something good - brush her hair, buy her some new clothes, take a trip out to a museum and stop off for tea cakes and hot chocolate afterwards, play together on a beach in the sunshine, or just sit and cuddle. It doesn't matter, just do something comforting.

I did the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) questionnaire and scored 9/10, which is a bit grim, but then I did the resilience questionnaire and found that I'm surprisingly resilient. You might surprise yourself if you do the same. Dropping the idea of being a victim and instead focusing on being resilient has helped me more than anything.

Visualisation helps too. I sometimes wear an imaginary hat, the sort you might buy in Skegness that has a band around it saying 'Kiss me quick' only it says 'Fuck you, pal' to everyone who treated me badly and to all the negative self-talk that used to circle in my mind. I also set up a sort of affirmation that goes 'This is MY mind and I'm in charge here, thank you very much' and that's helped too.

It's been hard work, but it can be done.

https://www.mindful.org/healing-the-child-within/

https://cls.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3019/2016/08/From-ACESTOOHIGH-ACES-and-Resilience-questions.pdf

https://cls.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3019/2016/08/From-ACESTOOHIGH-ACES-and-Resilience-questions.pdf

CENqqq · 14/03/2024 14:02

@Amazedtobesane thank you so much for the link it sounds really useful. Well done for all the work you have done for yourself!

@Sicario thank you x

OP posts:
TheGirlattheBack · 14/03/2024 14:38

OP it’s never too late. I’m in my 50’s now and therapy has been life changing. I did EMDR therapy about 5 years ago and because I don’t remember much of my childhood (defence mechanism) the emotion was difficult to unpack, EMDR was perfect for that. EMDR was a great start then I followed up with some talking therapy. It has been the best money I’ve ever spent on myself.

Having this sort of childhood gives you a very high threshold for tolerating toxic behaviour in other people - your husband sounds like a prime example. Since “doing the work” I have easily ditched all the toxic friendships and family members that I tolerated for far too long. I can’t even begin to describe how liberating the process has been.

I no longer live with those triggered emotions on a daily basis, it’s bliss. Good luck with your healing - however you get there. 🤗

bagpuss90 · 14/03/2024 14:45

I’ve no real words of wisdom but sending you a hug 💐

Steppered · 14/03/2024 16:23

To echo, the Pete Walker book is really good. There is also a good book about CEN by Simon Chapple, both of these I have found helpful. Sometimes overwhelming, and worth keeping a notepad and pen handy to jot stuff down/revisit. You'll definitely feel less alone which helps.

I'm working through some things now and whilst I'm having more good days than bad days (hooray!), please remember that progress is NOT linear! It can be very demoralising to feel you are climbing up and up, then a bad day knocks you back - it feels like square one but it ISN'T. There's a lot to unpick, a lot of love to give to yourself, a horrendous inner critic to tame.

Meditation and yoga are good for helping to calm that hypervigilant/ edgy feeling, and retrain your fight or flight senses. Again, they take practice and you need to find something that works for you. I wish you all the best, I know you can do this, you are not alone, you are not broken, this is the most painful bit - being aware - but you can heal. Sending love x

Steppered · 14/03/2024 16:28

Oh, and you might find it helpful to read up on Attachment Theory, there's a good book by Amir Levine but also lots on t'internet. Might help explain why you ended up with your husband and spot some patterns.

Dr Nicole Lepera (the holistic psychologist) is also good (insta or fb).

(I don't know about you, but I find learning about some of the psychology and theory is helpful).

Whataretalkingabout · 14/03/2024 17:01

Hello OP and to all the kind and generous and loving people on this thread.
Another resource that you may not have found is Dr. Jonice Webb's you tube channel which focuses on CEN.
Learning to love oneself and stopping the inner critic is a daily job but you deserve it, no matter what you once believed.

Lazypeopledrivemecrazy · 15/03/2024 22:44

I'm amazed at the amount of loving advice given on this post, and am so proud of those of you, who in spite of having a really difficult start to life, have managed to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, and make your life worthwhile. OP, I really hope that some of the advice you've been given helps you in some way. Sending you a big cyber hug.

Sicario · 16/03/2024 08:47

@CENqqq - just wanted to say Good Morning! Hope you are feeling positive today and that the sun is shining where you are. Start moving towards little wins every day, no matter how small.

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 16/03/2024 09:21

I would start making long term plans to leave your marriage if you can't face it right away. Growing up with a parent that treats the other parent like your husband treats you, will continue the cycle of abuse and your kids are likely to end up in similar relationships

amelien · 16/03/2024 12:50

My Mother was exactly the same, she didn’t want a girl and told anyone who would listen. I also had to go looking for food. I remember once finding just a tomato in the fridge. I am 50 and it has been very difficult. Like you, I was with a terrible partner. I feel much better now having worked through so many things, and left the AH. It will never be perfect, but it is better. I’m not sure if it’s possible on MN as I haven’t been on here a lot, but please send me a message if you would like to talk to someone who can at least begin to imagine how you are feeling. Sending hugs 🤗

CENqqq · 17/03/2024 12:14

@amelien thank you x

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