From the Guidelines
To manage emotional abandonment, it is essential to seek professional help from a therapist specializing in attachment issues or trauma, and practice self-care routines, including regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating, as these interventions have been shown to improve emotional regulation and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression 1. The most effective strategies for managing emotional abandonment include:
- Seeking professional help from a therapist specializing in attachment issues or trauma
- Practicing self-care routines, including regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating
- Building a support network of trusted friends and family members who can provide emotional validation
- Implementing mindfulness techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises, to help regulate overwhelming emotions
- Setting healthy boundaries in relationships by clearly communicating needs and expectations
- Processing unresolved feelings through journaling, focusing on identifying patterns and triggers related to abandonment fears
- Challenging negative thought patterns by recognizing catastrophic thinking and replacing it with more balanced perspectives
- Considering joining support groups specifically for abandonment issues to connect with others having similar experiences These strategies are supported by recent studies, including a 2023 systematic review that found cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and related interventions to be effective in managing emotional distress 1. Additionally, a 2019 study found that problem-solving therapy, a type of CBT, was effective in improving hopelessness in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury who were at risk for suicide 1. It is crucial to prioritize these evidence-based strategies to address the core wounds of emotional abandonment and rebuild a sense of self-worth independent of others' validation.
From the Research
Strategies for Managing Emotional Abandonment
- Therapists' dependability, attunement, empathy, interest, humility, and perhaps playfulness are essential in treating patients with a history of emotional abandonment 2
- Exploring patients' history of abandonment in detail, while being sensitive to their potential protectiveness of their parents, is crucial in the treatment process 2
- Normalizing and exploring patients' shame, as well as avoiding attempts to "rescue" them, can help patients re-find authority and agency over their own lives 2
- Helping patients mourn their early loss of feeling "the right to a life" is an important aspect of treatment 2
- For individuals struggling with grief, recognition and acceptance of their emotions, eliciting and compassionately listening to their narratives, and regularly "checking in" can be beneficial 3
- Complicated grief therapy (CGT) involves helping individuals accept and cope with loss while adapting to life without the deceased, and can be implemented through seven core themes:
- Understanding and accepting grief
- Managing painful emotions
- Planning for a meaningful future
- Strengthening ongoing relationships
- Telling the story of the death
- Learning to live with reminders
- Establishing an enduring connection with memories of the person who died 3
- Cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) and pharmacotherapy, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be effective in treating anxiety disorders, including those related to emotional abandonment 4
- Potentially effective treatments for psychological maltreatment, which can contribute to emotional abandonment, include cognitive behavioral parenting programs and other psychotherapeutic interventions 5
- Ensuring continuity of care and providing closure can help prevent feelings of abandonment in patients and their families, particularly in end-of-life care situations 6