When those who are supposed to love, nurture, protect and care for you as a child leave you alone or in an unsafe environment where you must care for yourself instead, abandonment issues may arise. Emotional and physical abandonment both leave a soul deep wound in the psyche.

It may be either a sudden or gradual process of withdrawal of support but the effects can be devastating either way. Slow erosion of support causes the child to attempt connection over and over hoping to stop that attrition. The less the child receives necessary care, the more withdrawn they are likely to become. Sudden losses of support can leave a child feeling like there is no solid foundation to rely on. It is shocking and completely disruptive to the psyche. Abandonment actually activates and the brain’s physical pain centers and imprints a self protection process in the brain.

Such wounds can lead to feelings of deep isolation and rejection. They can create a framework for adult life that is filtered through the abandonment experience. This perspective can make it difficult for survivors of abandonment to have fulfilling, healthy relationships as their life progresses. When interacting with the world through this filter, issues with trust, giving and receiving love, creating support systems, and connecting with others are likely to arise.

Abandonment can also happen between those you rely on as an adult for emotional or physical support. Separation from or loss of this support abruptly or over time can be just as devastating as childhood abandonment, especially when these experiences are compounded with childhood abandonment.

In order to heal from such wounds, it is important to love yourself and reaffirm that you are worthy of love, support, and connection. Engaging in activities of self nurturing are a solid step toward this goal, whether it is something as simple as taking a bath or going for a walk or as complex as analyzing all the reasons you feel disconnected and acting correctively.  You must ultimately learn to become your own caregiver and then from a self validated place, seek connection with the world. Creating a trusted friend or loved one from a place of self worth and vulnerability can be a healing balm to abandonment wounds. Slowly moving away from living through that filter will put you on the path of presence, where you are connected and fully in the world, aware and more whole.

For deeply entrenched abandonment issues, consider seeing a mental health professional, a shamanic practitioner and a VortexHealing® practitioner. Resources for these types of healing abound on the internet, but when I mention VortexHealing® I am required to explain that VortexHealing® is divine energy healing and practitioners can be found at vortexhealing.org. I have used all three of these professional healing methods as an integrated approach to wholeness. May you meet your issues with loving compassion not fear and may you be your own strongest advocate!

• Self Alchemy Seeker