Childhood Emotional Neglect Is Harmful to the Brain
"Thirty years ago, researchers had an opportunity to find out if neglect was harmful to children’s brains and bodies. Scientists learned that neglect did significant, long-lasting harm to infants and children’s brains.
A broken bone, set properly, heals in six weeks, but a brain, harmed by verbal or psychological abuse, may not heal properly or even be recognized as injured.
As well-documented in research, children who have been betrayed and manipulated by an adult seeking to exploit them in some way have brains that become confused. They struggle to know who to trust. They no longer have faith in their capacity to understand reality. Their brain fails to accurately predict and choose accurate “emotion-concepts."
Imagine a child's brain that has an adult in a position of trust and authority grooming him or her.
Children struggle to have healthy brains when adults verbally abuse them, manipulate them, lure them, and exploit them, even in ways that do not touch the body.
A brain that loses its grip on reality is a brain that can slip into various forms of mental illness including a depressive, suicidal swamp.
While the Romanian babies were fed and housed, their brains failed to flourish and thrive when deprived of engaged, empathic, caring adults.
The ignored child does not flourish from a brain perspective. The emotionally neglected child fails to have a healthy, high-performing brain. Children and youth need to learn how to develop positive, trusting, connected relationships with adults and peers, and this learning hinges on adults who give them positive, healthy attention. "
Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!
Reflection:
What do you think we can do to prevent emotional neglect in children?
*I think it is vital to educate parents on topics regarding children's mental health in addition to their physical health. Their emotional development should be taken into account as well.*
#Childhood #EmotionalNeglect #MentalHealth
@comfortableNight4463
thank you so much for sharing this, i just wrote an article for discussion on childhood trauma.<3 It sort of goes with the same concept. So it was interesting to learn a little more about the other side of neglect.
What do you think we can do to prevent emotional neglect in children?
-Be more patient and understanding as adults that they are children, and children will act as such children, and being frustrated is not helpful to them, and will hurt there emotional growth if we are always frustrated with them they will think the things we get frustrated with will not be okay leading into adult hood and will carry this backpack full of donts when they are adults<3
-Always be loving in a negative situation, even if you have to walk away with your anger and hurt to come back and give them a hug and kiss and tell them everything is okay and state your feeling and the why behind it, instead of ignoring it, and forgetting about it, Kids remember everything, they wanna feel loved and heard, and when you are mad at them and dont come back to solve that emotional situation they will carry that negative trait with them as ignore
@magicalOcean594 These are great tips that I think most parents should be aware of. Thank you for sharing them!😊
@comfortablenight4463
thank you for the support i have done alot of research and have learned from my own childhood trauma and raising kids :)
@magicalOcean594 I'm so sorry about your childhood trauma. I wish for a world where no child has to go through this. Thank you so much for your research and dedication to the topic. I'm sure it's helping a lot of kids. ❤️
@comfortableNight4463 Thanks for supporting.
@Happy900 You're very welcome!
@magicalOcean594 Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
I really enjoyed reading it.
It was really quit interesting.
@comfortableNight4463 Thanks for sharing this.
I really enjoyed reading this.
@Happy900 You're most welocme!
@comfortableNight4463 So sorry to here of your past trauma.
Thanks for opening up about it.
It is not easy to talk about our feelings or share how we feel, sometimes.
But it is not good to keep things inside.
By doing that, it will over time, affect our mental and physical well being.
So it is best to talk about our feelings, with someone we trust, like a friend or a neighbor.
What if we have no one to share or talk about our feelings?
That is a really great question.
I will do my best to answer the question.
We have 7cups.
At 7cups we have trained listeners and we also have trained therapists.
We also have each other.
You might be asking, why do we have both?
It is because some, only need a peer to talk with, and some need both a peer and a therapist.
Are they both free?
No.
The listeners are free.
The therapist charge a fee.
How much is the fee?
For a therapy session at 7cups, it cost 150,USD Per month.
So you have some choices.
Also, at 7cups, we have support rooms, where members try to help fellow members.
Sometimes the listeners are in the chat rooms, to offer there support and help.
So your never alone.
@comfortableNight4463 I think the key is in educating parents as well
@zealousGrace5023 Exactly! Educating and spreading awareness is very important in order to prevent this.
@comfortableNight4463 yes absolutely
@zealousGrace5023 😊👍
I used to think that people should have to take parenting classes when they find out they're pregnant. Idk - I think sometimes it's generational - that they heard it when they were kids - so they repeat it - because maybe they think they turned out ok as adults? It doesn't excuse it though. Maybe they blocked those things out and forgot how they felt as a kid?
I'm sorry that you heard the things you did - I know that stuff doesn't just magically go away :(
@mytwistedsoul yeah i know what you mean. It's almost like a reflex, they don't think it through
@mytwistedsoul I agree. Most parents aren't aware that trauma can affect generations. It's our turn to break the cycle.
