Codependent Doctor 45: Emotional Neglect: The Hidden Wound Behind Codependency
If you’ve always been “the strong one,” this episode on emotional neglect may explain why relationships still feel hard.
Emotional neglect isn’t about what happened, but what didn’t.
- Your needs were likely invisible
- You learned to be low-maintenance to feel loved
- You felt “too much” for having emotions
This early conditioning creates:
- Codependency
- People-pleasing
- Attraction to emotionally unavailable partners
At the root is a quiet belief: “If I had just been better, they would have loved me.”
Healing begins when you stop trying to be chosen—and start choosing yourself.
This episode includes a paid partnership with BetterHelp. Click this link, betterhelp.com/drdowney, to get 10% off your first month.
📗 My Books: Enough as I Am (codependency recovery) Enough as I Grow (365 day guide journal). Affiliate disclosure: I am an affiliate parner with Amazon and therefore receive a commission at no cost to you.
📙My Favorite books:
Daring Greatly by Brenee Brown, It Begins With You by Jillian Turecki, Becoming Bulletproof by Evy Poumpouras, The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, Real Self-Care by Pooja Lakshmin.
Affiliate disclosure: I am an affiliate parner with Amazon and therefore receive a commission at no cost to you.
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🎵 Music: Touching The Air by Graceful Movement