Jonice Webb's Blog, page 14

5 Steps To Break Down Your Wall

The fuel of life is feeling. If we are not filled up in childhood, we must fill ourselves as adults. Otherwise we will find ourselves running on empty.   From the book Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect What does Empty feel like? What causes some people to feel it? In last week’s article, […]

Childhood Emotional Neglect: Real People, Real Stories

Some of the most powerful words are those of real people sharing their stories. Some of the quotes below were emailed to me (with permission to share), and some were posted as comments on my website. Here is a sampling of the real words of people who grew up with CEN. The CEN Childhood The […]

Robin Williams and Childhood Emotional Neglect

After Robin Williams’ sad and shocking suicide, friends, family, fellow stars, and even reporters offered multiple explanations for the virtually inexplicable: Why did he do it? Some of the many possible factors which have been proposed are depression, alcohol, drugs, and Parkinsons Disease. But I see another potential factor which is never mentioned by anyone. […]

The Most Important Relationship Of All

“Although many of us think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, biologically we are feeling creatures that think”      — Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, Neuroscientist and author of My Stroke of Insight. What is the most important relationship in your life? Your spouse? Your child? Your mother or father? If you answered yes to […]

Raised By A Narcissist

Few phrases sum up the idea of narcissism better than: It’s all about me.  But the most defining feature of a person with narcissism is actually not his self-involvement. It’s his deeply concealed fear of being exposed as inadequate. Underneath the bluster and arrogance of the narcissist lies a hurt and fragile core. Deep down, […]

Do You Have Alexithymia?

Alexithymia: Difficulty in experiencing, expressing and describing emotions. Every day I hear from folks who have just realized that they grew up with Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN). Often they say, “Finally I understand what’s wrong with me!” Many describe a huge weight lifted from their shoulders. It is a wonderful thing to finally understand yourself […]

Attention Therapists: Sign Up to Join My CEN Referral List

Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN): A parent’s failure to respond enough to the child’s emotional needs. As a mental health professional, how often have you heard the term Childhood Emotional Neglect used on its own; that is, not followed by the words “and abuse.”  I scoured the databases of the APA, and used google and other search methods. I […]

Were You A Needy Child? There is No Such Thing

A Question Posted on my CEN Sharing Page by Anonymous: My mother has complained about my behavior as a child for YEARS. When I was little, she says I “always wanted to be held,” and was “so dramatic” as a teen, acting out to get attention. I was nearly held back in Kindergarten for lack of social skills; […]

The Most Important Thing You Never Got

Emotional Neglect happens when your parents fail to respond enough to your emotional needs. All children require a certain amount of emotional response and emotional validation from their parents in order to grow up feeling happy, healthy and strong. When your parents notice what you’re feeling, name it, and help you manage it, they are not only […]

Are You Prone to Depression? This Could Be the Reason

Your emotions are the most deeply personal, biological part of who you are. They are also your greatest resource for coping and strength. Legions of people walk through decades of their lives completely unaware that they are missing something. They may look around, and they may see others living more fully, or with more color […]