It is so easy to be dismissive when we are parenting. We are too busy and distracted to stop and listen to what is needed. When we don’t attend to children, they learn they are not important, their feelings and …
Category: Healing
Journalling for Parentified Children
I have found journaling to be an invaluable part of my healing journey. It is time just for me to contemplate my life, think about relationships, and have space to allow my intuition, different perspectives and ideas to come through. …
Why You Find Caregiving Exhausting as a Parentified Child
As a parentified child, one of the ways you received love and acceptance was through caring for your siblings and/or parents. This may have been expressed as a compulsion as an adult, which may have contributed to moving naturally into …
Parentification in Action
You might find this interesting! A study of 783 university students into the links between parentification and later adult wellness showed those who experienced parentification have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and substance abuse (Hooper, Marotta, & …
Some Reasons a Child Becomes An Adult Too Soon.
As I mentioned in the last post, there are two types of parentification: 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Acting as a friend and confidant to a parent, becoming the peacemaker, emotionally supporting the family. I𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – helping the family with physical …
What is Parentification?
Not everyone who experiences parentification also experiences negative effects as adults. However, some of the things you may experience are a loss of a sense of playfulness and a feeling of not having had a fun childhood. There is often …
When We Have Emotionally Immature Parents
Let’s start with emotionally immature parents. Your parents were emotionally immature because THEIR parents were emotionally immature. Emotional maturity is passed through family lines. If we are raised by people who know how to have healthy boundaries, self-regulate, have functional, …
What is Complex PTSD?
Complex trauma refers to a child’s continued exposure to traumatic events, which are often interpersonal and intrusive. This could be physical abuse, neglect, or attachment issues with the primary caregiver. When a child is abused or neglected, attachment issues occur. …
Meditation Practice
Coming to a place of mindfulness is about bringing our awareness into the present. So often, we are physically present but mentally somewhere completely different. When we are connected to our body, thorough mindful breath or mindful walking, we are …
Meditation
Mindfulness has been a big part of my healing journey. I first learned to meditate about 22 – 23 years ago, when the research and hype about meditation had not yet landed. I bought a book called ‘Meditation …