What Therapy Helps Heal Abandonment Issues? Find Hope and Healing

Understanding Abandonment Issues: The Struggles You Face

Abandonment issues are real. Honestly, they can feel overwhelming, like you're constantly on edge, fearing that everyone will eventually leave you. Whether it's from childhood trauma, a bad breakup, or neglect, abandonment issues can deeply affect your relationships and your self-worth.

I remember talking with my friend Sarah about this recently. She mentioned how she struggles with trusting others after her parents' divorce. It's like she's always expecting the worst, always waiting for the next person to leave. It's tough, and it's something many people go through.

Why Abandonment Issues Matter

Well, abandonment issues are more than just a fear of being alone. They can show up in different ways: constant anxiety, difficulty trusting, and even self-sabotaging behavior in relationships. You might push people away, even when you want them close, simply because you're afraid they'll leave. Or maybe you cling too much to others, unable to set healthy boundaries. These issues aren't your fault, but they definitely need addressing if you want to move forward.

The Right Therapy for Abandonment Issues

So, what therapy can help? Well, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are some tried-and-true approaches that can guide you through the healing process. I’ll break them down for you, and honestly, some of these therapies have really changed lives, including my own.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Rewriting Your Story

Actually, CBT is one of the most popular methods used to address abandonment issues. It's all about challenging and changing the negative thought patterns that fuel your fears of abandonment. You know, like those moments when your brain tells you, “If I trust them, they’ll leave,” or, “I’m not worth sticking around for.”

CBT helps you identify these thoughts and replace them with healthier, more realistic beliefs. It’s a bit of work, but I’ve seen people, including a close friend, really benefit from it. It doesn’t erase the past, but it helps you understand why you feel the way you do and teaches you how to break free from those cycles of fear and anxiety.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Managing Emotions in Relationships

You might be wondering, “What’s the difference between CBT and DBT?” Well, DBT is a more specialized form of therapy that’s perfect if you’ve been through intense emotional experiences, like those often linked to abandonment issues.

DBT focuses on teaching you skills to manage overwhelming emotions, particularly in relationships. It’s all about balance—learning how to accept your feelings without letting them control you. If you're the type to feel like your emotions are a rollercoaster, DBT could give you the tools to stay grounded. Honestly, I’ve seen people make incredible progress in just a few months with DBT. It helps you build the resilience to trust again, even after experiencing deep emotional wounds.

Psychodynamic Therapy: Exploring the Past

Now, if you’re someone who believes that healing means diving deep into your past, psychodynamic therapy might be your thing. Honestly, I’ve had mixed feelings about it, but for some, this type of therapy is incredibly effective.

Unpacking the Past to Understand the Present

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on understanding how your early life experiences—like childhood abandonment or neglect—have shaped your present-day feelings and relationships. It’s not an easy journey, and at times, it can feel like you're opening old wounds. But, I’ve seen clients, including one of my relatives, completely transform by understanding how their childhood fears of abandonment still influence their behavior.

This therapy is about gaining insight into the unconscious patterns that drive your reactions, so you can make more conscious choices. For some, it’s about finally processing those past hurts that they’ve been carrying around for years. It takes time, but the payoff is understanding yourself on a much deeper level.

Attachment-Based Therapy: Healing the Root Cause

If you want to dig straight into the heart of abandonment issues, attachment-based therapy is one of the most powerful approaches. This therapy is based on attachment theory, which explains how the bonds we form with our caregivers in childhood shape how we relate to others as adults.

How Attachment Styles Shape Our Relationships

There are different attachment styles—secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized—and each one reflects a different way of relating to people. Someone with an anxious attachment style, for example, may have a deep fear of abandonment, constantly seeking reassurance from others. This was totally the case for my friend Lucas, who used to feel like he couldn’t trust anyone. Over time, he realized he had an anxious attachment style, and through therapy, he started to learn how to form healthier, more secure attachments.

Attachment-based therapy focuses on healing these deep-rooted attachment wounds, helping you form stronger, healthier connections. It’s especially helpful if your abandonment issues come from childhood experiences or if you tend to repeat unhealthy patterns in your adult relationships.

Moving Forward: Embracing Healing

So, here’s the thing. Healing from abandonment issues isn’t a quick fix, but it’s definitely possible. It’s about being gentle with yourself, facing those fears, and learning to trust again—both yourself and others. Whether you choose CBT, DBT, psychodynamic therapy, or attachment-based therapy, the key is to take that first step.

Honestly, if you’re struggling with abandonment issues, don’t wait too long to seek help. You deserve to have meaningful relationships and to feel secure in who you are. Don’t let your past define your future. Healing is totally within reach—you just have to reach out for it.

Is 165 cm normal for a 15 year old?

The predicted height for a female, based on your parents heights, is 155 to 165cm. Most 15 year old girls are nearly done growing. I was too. It's a very normal height for a girl.

Is 160 cm too tall for a 12 year old?

How Tall Should a 12 Year Old Be? We can only speak to national average heights here in North America, whereby, a 12 year old girl would be between 137 cm to 162 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/3 feet). A 12 year old boy should be between 137 cm to 160 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/4 feet).

How tall is a average 15 year old?

Average Height to Weight for Teenage Boys - 13 to 20 Years

How to get taller at 18?

Staying physically active is even more essential from childhood to grow and improve overall health. But taking it up even in adulthood can help you add a few inches to your height. Strength-building exercises, yoga, jumping rope, and biking all can help to increase your flexibility and grow a few inches taller.

Is 5.7 a good height for a 15 year old boy?

Generally speaking, the average height for 15 year olds girls is 62.9 inches (or 159.7 cm). On the other hand, teen boys at the age of 15 have a much higher average height, which is 67.0 inches (or 170.1 cm).

Can you grow between 16 and 18?

Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. However, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a year or two more.

Can you grow 1 cm after 17?

Even with a healthy diet, most people's height won't increase after age 18 to 20. The graph below shows the rate of growth from birth to age 20. As you can see, the growth lines fall to zero between ages 18 and 20 ( 7 , 8 ). The reason why your height stops increasing is your bones, specifically your growth plates.