Used & Broken? Understanding Emotional Incest

Do you feel like you have grown up too fast?

Did you feel like you were carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders growing up?

If so, it might help to consider what may have truly been going on.

Researchers in Turkey studying parent styles and relationships created the Childhood Emotional Incest Scale (CEIS) in 2001 to help identify harmful childhood experiences in adults.

They found that experiences of #emotionalincest negatively impacted the adult participants later in life.

Examples of emotional incest may include:
– being a child and having a parent who seeks reassurance and emotional support from you. For example, lets say your parents are getting a divorce and you ask if you could spend a few weeks at your dad’s house. Your mother lashes out stating “your father has never done all that I have done for you” or “I feel like he doesn’t care unless he can do something fun with you.” Your mother may go on to say “he doesn’t do half of what I do for you. You never want to spend a few weeks with me. Am I not as cool as your dad?”

Another example of emotional incest may include your #parent speaking to you about his/her sex life and the things you need to know as a newlywed.

These examples are just a few but emotional incest can go much deeper in the lives of those who have endured #childhoodtrauma and #abuse.

To learn learn more about this concept, see my recent video here:
https://youtu.be/YBZS5xjmjLk