Sarah grew up in a household where her emotional needs were often dismissed. As a child, when she expressed feelings of anxiety or sadness, her mother would tell her to "Stop overreacting" or "You have nothing to be upset about." Now, as an adult, Sarah struggles with feelings of self-doubt whenever she faces difficult emotions because her mother's invalidation affected her sense of self and her ability to trust her own emotions. Over the holidays, she tried to talk to her mother about how she felt as a child, and what her experience was like. Again, her mother was unable to support her and remained in denial about her own behavior, saying "Stop bringing up the past; you turned out just fine."

"How can I heal if my mother is unable to see what my childhood was like?"........

© Psychology Today