Many people initially seek therapy for problems in their intimate relationships unaware that attachment patterns established in childhood directly affect behavior in their adult relationships. It is important to dismantle and become mindful of survival strategies unconsciously created in childhood that cause dysfunction in adult life. Neglect and our reaction to it is one of the most subtle and unrecognized of those problems which interferes with our ability to love and be loved.

We are naturally created to seek connection, but when unconscious patterns interfere with this process they can produce devastating emotional pain and unhealthy behaviors that prevent this from happening. The first order of business is to unpack risky family situations, brain chemistry, and genetic factors to become mindful of how behaviors in the now are unconsciously being dictated by the past. Awareness then becomes one of the the keys to healing patterns that keep us from achieving true intimacy.

Join Dr. Jake Porter in this interview with Enod Gray, LCSW, CSAT, and author of Neglect: The Silent Abuser.

Links for the show: