Women who learned early on to protect their mother at the cost of their own feelings often feel compassion which is in fact empathy mixed with fear. This prevents them from making space for their feelings and big emotions and ask for their needs. It's how the mother wound sets compassion as a trap. Even if you're a therapist, as Polly in this post, you'd be surprised how it can feel like compassion is competing with your right to feel anger.

When your mother never believed you, it warps how you see yourself. You learn to minimise your needs, explain away the hurt, and call it “not that bad.” I’ve seen this pattern in women raised by narcissistic mothers, and it runs deep. This post breaks down why it happens and what it takes to finally trust your own truth.

Time to let go your emotional bag, heal the mother wound and have a life you love

Discover the Black Sheep's journey through grief and healing after a parent's passing. Embrace your own path of complex grief

What happens when you don’t heal the mother wound and follow the recipes of your emotional inheritance