Jonice Webb's Blog, page 15

Big Boys Don’t Cry – The Emotionally Neglected Man

Luke prepares himself to walk into the office party. Despite his reputation as the most helpful and productive salesperson in the company, his self-confidence flies out the window when he has to face people socially. “I never fit in anywhere,” he thinks to himself. Often they are referred to as, “the strong, silent type.” They are giving, […]

Love and Wealth are Not Enough

What’s the most important ingredient for a happy life? Philosophers, clergy, psychologists and researchers of all kinds have offered opinions on this question over the last five decades. Some say wealth, some say religion. Still others say family is the most important thing. But one factor emerges over and over in study after study as […]

Not Sad Not Hurt Not Angry: Empty

It’s like I have no emotions. I’m numb a lot of the time. Something is missing in me. I have no idea how I feel about anything. Sometimes my chest feels hollow. I feel empty inside. What might seem like five unrelated statements is actually five different people describing the same feeling. Everyone says it […]

Three Tips to Teach Your Child Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EI): Your ability to manage and understand emotions and relationships, your own as well as others’. Research has shown that Emotional Intelligence is more vital to life success and satisfaction than general intelligence. This makes EI a very important skill for parents to teach their children. The good news: Children automatically learn EI when they […]

Grow Your Anger Vocabulary

The one emotion that many CEN people struggle with the most is anger. When you grow up in a home where your emotions aren’t accepted, you learn that it’s not OK to be angry. You learn how to suppress and repress your anger. You learn how to get by without it. But here’s the problem. […]

20 Questions to Raise Your Resilience – Childhood Emotional Neglect

Will has no idea how he ended up in his career. In hindsight, he has some regrets…. Jonathan continually dates the wrong women, and then is completely shocked and devastated when they break up with him. At the first sign of a problem in her pre-med program, Bella decided she wasn’t cut out for medicine, […]

Do You Have Emotional Integrity

Here is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of Integrity: The quality of being honest and fair; the state of being complete or whole; incorruptibility; soundness. What, then, is Emotional Integrity? It’s knowing what you feel and why, and being able and willing to share it with others, even when it’s painful for you. So general integrity […]

How to Tell Emotional Neglect From Emotional Abuse in a Relationship

Let’s face it, relationships are complicated. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me, “Is this normal?” about their relationship. One of the most confusing gray areas is the difference between emotional abuse and Emotional Neglect. Since neither is physical, both are difficult to perceive at all. Even more difficult […]

Why Don’t Therapists Talk More About Emotional Neglect?

Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN): A parent’s failure to respond enough to a child’s emotional needs. “After reading Running on Empty I told my therapist that I’m pretty sure I was emotionally neglected as a child. He understood what I meant but he never mentioned it again”. “I’ve been seeing my therapist for a year and […]

Black Sheep

“I’m the black sheep of my family,” said the young man who sat before me in my therapy office. I tried to imagine this adorable, sad young man being the “black sheep” of anything. I couldn’t. Generally considered the outcast of the family, the black sheep is typically assumed to be an oddball. Furthermore, the […]