Leaving is always an emotional act, not only at the moment of separation but often long before. The thought of leaving—whether it’s a job or an intimate relationship—comes from an underlying feeling: frustration over being overlooked, unshakeable loneliness, criticism that wounds your self-esteem, feeling dismissed, and having no voice.

I remember reading a statement in a therapy text long ago this one-line statement: How you felt when you left home for the first time—whether going to college, getting married, or moving into an apartment with friends—becomes the emotional baseline for leaving other things in your life, such as jobs and relationships. There wasn't any solid experimental evidence in the book to support the claim, but the notion that our leaving or quitting follows some learned pattern has stuck and resonated with me over the years, as it has for many of my clients.

And maybe for you. So, when you think about that time in your life when you left your home and parents to start a new chapter, what do you........

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