When someone invalidates or dismisses your thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours it can be very hurtful and upsetting.
It makes you feel judged, rejected, ignored and that your words don’t matter.
It can make you question everything and even though sometimes it’s coming from a good place with no real ill-intent, like when someone tells you “it could be worse” or “maybe you just misunderstood”; playing down another person’s experiences doesn’t hurt any less.
When we invalidate another person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours it can lead to distrust, self-doubt, the belief that your feelings are wrong and that you are worthless.
Invalidation can lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety and when someone is already suffering with a mental illness it can lead to worsening symptoms.
And when an adult is continually dismissing a child’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours it can have a much higher tendency to have long lasting effects on their mental health or stronger reactions to certain situations making them unable to manage their emotional responses to events later on in their lives.
Finding the right words to say and being more aware of the language you use when speaking to others is a great place to start when trying to develop healthy relationships in your life.
#healthyrelationships #invalidation #validation #emotions #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #youmatter #yourfeelingsmatter #kindnessisfree #healthyrelationships #selfdoubt
YouAreEnough 