Source: Copyright and courtesy Morty Bachar, Lakeside Pottery For some, the journey out of childhood is a long one, involving the healing of deep wounds to the self. These wounds are the result of feeling unloved, marginalized or dismissed, or constantly criticized or belittled by the...

While the daughter of a dismissive mother suffers because she’s ignored and can end up caught in a cycle of behaviors meant to elicit her mother’s attention—either highly constructive or destructive or both—the enmeshed daughter disappears in the hot glare of her mother’s attention. This daughter...

No one likes failing or the rush of negative feeling that comes along with it; it’s equally true that all of us—no matter how smart, gifted, or alert—will experience a variety of failures and setbacks over the course of our lives. Falling on your face, now...

Daughters who grow up with mothers who send mixed signals—who are sometimes emotionally available and loving, and other times not—develop an attachment style called anxious-preoccupied. While a securely attached daughter knows that she can depend on her mother for empathy, support, and guidance, the anxious daughter...

For all that the cultural mythology insists that mothers love all their children equally, the truth is that mothers (and fathers, for that matter) treat their children differently. In fact, it’s so much a part of family dynamics that it’s got its own acronym: PDT (Parental...