Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance

by Kelly McDaniel

Ready to Heal,

without early maternal nurturance, we grow up hungry for touch and belonging. Without early maternal protection, we are constantly anxious and afraid. Without maternal guidance, we lack an internal compass directing our choices. These are the symptoms of Mother Hunger.

is to metabolize our pain and heal our trauma.”

Understanding the nature of the first relationship in your life doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful or feeling sorry for yourself. Think of it as a brave step toward wholeness. Recognizing what you had and what you lost directs the path toward reclaiming what you need.

Implicit memory, or body-based memory, is how we hold information about the world and our family before explicit memory, or conscious memory, comes online.

When someone or something is important to you, you give it your full attention.

Love alone is not enough for building secure attachment.

This explains the popularity of the mega best-selling book The Five Love Languages.

Attunement is a verb and an active expression of love.

Independence is a by-product of healthy dependency needs that have been met during the most vulnerable months and years.