Emotional neglect refers to the state of an individual’s relationship with another individual where one gets neglected or ignored. In simple words, emotional neglect is when an individual does not get the love, affection, time, or attention they require. Emotional neglect negatively impacts the individual who goes through it.
Emotional neglect negatively impacts children the most. During a child’s growing years, if they are not given the time/attention or affection required, they grow up as individuals who struggle a lot. Of course, everyone has their share of struggles throughout their life, but if the reason is emotional neglect, it results in something that no one imagines it to be. Although it can also affect individuals of other age groups, children don’t need to be concerned if they go through emotional neglect.
How does emotional neglect affect children?
Childhood emotional neglect refers to when a child does not get their emotional needs fulfilled by their parent/s. Many children do not get enough love, support, time, and attention from their parents. Both the parents may be working outside the home, physically/mentally ill, or a single parent. An example of childhood emotional neglect- a child is not feeling well for some time. He does not feel like going to school, eat or drink; he also faces trouble sleeping. So he shares it with his parents, but they do not pay much attention to him and advise him to rest. Instead, the parents should have spoken to him about how he feels and his problems and solves them correctly by taking him to the medical professional.
The impacts of emotional neglect may not be much visible or portrayed by the child, making it difficult for their parents to understand. However, it may be visible in many cases, and it can be understood through a few symptoms, which include:
- Aggression
- Hyperactivity
- Poor self-esteem
- Delayed development
- Anxiety
- Poor performance at school
- Poor social life
- Sleeping difficulty
People who have been ignored emotionally as children grow up to be adults who must cope with the consequences of their actions. They may not know how to deal with their emotions as adults because their emotional needs were not met as children. This continues to the point where they also become parents. Their children also go through emotional neglect because; they are entirely unaware of what needs to be done or how to support the child as a parent emotionally. However, if it is treated effectively, it helps an individual overcome all the difficulties caused by emotional neglect and become more emotionally stable.
Treatment for individuals who have been through emotional neglect comprises different forms of therapies.
The underlying reason why a parent is neglectful differs from person to person. The parents must cooperate reasonably with professionals and their children to help them all better out.
