Adults with Difficult Childhoods

Some childhood experiences persist.

Enduring a tough childhood can follow you well into adulthood.

The feeling of powerlessness and insecurity in relationship is pervasive.

Fears of being abandoned, ignored, or punished create personal suffering that many find hard to relinquish as adults.

Becoming an adult does not negate negative experiences during childhood.

Difficult childhoods leave lasting scars.

Often, people who’ve endured difficult childhoods experience difficulties.

Some demonstrate over-concern with other people’s welfare, are eager to please others, take on the parental role in the relationship, or fix other people before concentrating on their own needs.

Others experienced emotional abandonment, role confusion, abuse, and a chaotic, unpredictable home environment. Such experiences make the individual passively submit to the wishes, wants, and needs of others.

Some people report feeling less worthy than those who have more stable lives, verbalize persistent feelings of worthlessness, and believe that being treated with disrespect and shame is normal and expected.

Those who experienced difficult childhoods also report an inability to trust others, share feelings, or talk openly about themselves. They express strong feelings of panic and helplessness when faced with being alone. Other individuals tell people what they think they want to hear rather than telling the truth.

Survival appears to be the only option.

Many adults who have endured difficult childhoods do not realize they are not thriving and are instead surviving.

When you live in constant worry over what people think, feel, need, or believe, your mind is not free to consider what experiences might bring you joy. Instead, the body, mind, and soul focus on the external instead of living a fully integrated life.

Surviving may have been all you could do. If childhood proved to be alarming, unpredictable, psychologically unsafe, and/or physically abusive, living in survival mode was the best option.

Thank goodness that the brain and body know how to dissociate, deny, and detach from overwhelming situations you could not fully experience during trauma.

Thriving is a better option.

Today, it is good to see the difference between surviving and thriving. You need to know the difference between getting through a day versus actively seeking an aligned experience that brings you joy or represents the real you.

Each of us may pursue our dreams, find love, and love ourselves. Know that within you is the right and the ability to honor what brings you happiness.

Moving from a state of survival into a state of thriving does not happen overnight, but it will never happen unless you try.

Most people give up before they’ve created enough momentum toward a pleasurable life experience.

Don’t let that be you!

Recovery as an adult is possible but takes work in therapy.

Therapy helps increase your self-worth, promotes assertiveness, encourages you to choose partners and friends who are responsible, respectful, and reliable.

Through therapy, you learn to decrease dependence on relationships while meeting your own needs and overcome fears of abandonment, loss, and neglect.

You will learn to reduce the frequency of behaviors designed to please others and reduce alienation feelings while increasing the frequency of telling the truth rather than saying what others want to hear.

Let’s work together!

My offer is a safe and confidential space where we discuss what childhood events are holding you back.

It’s time to dispel those experiences and find a new life.

Contact me today!