The truth of this relational dysfunction in adults is that there was some type of parental invalidation of their emotions when they were children. One can imagine a child coming home from school each day and a parent neglecting to process with them, espousing a “seen but not heard” stance. This child learns to not share emotions and cannot gain the capacity or vocabulary to understand what they are feeling. They have no safe space and instead grow up without receiving the empathy they need for healthy development. This can result in not having a lot of empathy for themselves or others around them. They are a “closed system” and may be unaware of the whybehind their lack of healthy communication.