Childhood emotional neglect happens when a parent fails to respond to a child's emotional needs. "It may sound like nothing, and it often looks like nothing," Webb has written, "But actually, [it] can have as great an impact upon a child as abuse, even though it's not noticeable or memorable like abuse is."
Often, that lack of emotional response doesn't look unhealthy at all; the parents may take great care of the child overall. But something invisible is missing: The parent doesn't validate their child's feelings or respond to their child's emotional needs. And that has consequences. Webb says emotionally neglected children can end up feeling deeply alone. As kids, they feel like their needs aren't important like their feelings don't matter, or like they should never ask for help because it's perceived as a sign of weakness.
When they grow up, childhood emotional neglect can stick around as unnecessary guilt, self-anger, low self-confidence, or a sense of being deeply flawed. But that's true of anyone who grew up with emotional neglect. This book will show you how to Recovering from Childhood Emotional Neglect.