Do you wish you had been told how good you were as a child? Every child needs to hear praise while they are growing up. It’s what makes us yearn for more praise! It feels good!

If you grew up in a dysfunctional family, you may have received little praise, leaving you yearning for something that always felt just out of reach – approval. As you grew up, you may have learned to tie your sense of self-worth to how well you could mold yourself to meet other people’s expectations, hoping simply to avoid criticism, rejection, or emotional neglect.

However, living like this can be exhausting and unfulfilling, trapping you in a cycle where no compliment or acknowledgment you receive now is enough. You still feel the need of approval. However, recognizing how it started and learning how to shift your mindset can set you free of this emotional burden! Continue reading →

When you hear of grief, what comes to your mind? It is often tied to losing a loved one, but grief isn’t always tied to death. It can also emerge from a sense of loss over what you never had. For those who have grown up in a dysfunctional family, this form of grief can develop, especially if their family is compared to other, happier ones.

When the family you wish you had isn’t the one you do have, it’s natural to feel that loss, which is why you can grieve. This grief deserves attention and compassion, just as much as any other loss.

Recognizing What Was Lost

For some people, the loss is due to the absence of unconditional love or stability. For others, it’s mourning the childhood that was taken away from them by having to take on responsibilities they shouldn’t have had to, or emotional or physical neglect or turmoil. Continue reading →