all this & heaven too

ACoAs: Lack of TRUST (Part 2)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, coaching, mental health, Problem-Solving, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , ,

unsafe parentSEE, I TOLD YOU –
nobody’s safe!

PREVIOUS: Lack of Trust (Part 1)

See ACRONYM page for abbrev.


🕛 LIFE STAGES
🕕 DEF. of Legitimate Trust

 🕕 CAUSES of ACoA DISTRUST
PHYSICAL
• growing up in a neglectful, unpredictable &/or volatile family
• constantly subjected to undeserved bullying & victimization, by individuals & institutions
• death or loss of one or more loved-ones

EMOTIONAL
• emotional, physical &/or sexual abuse at the hands of our caretakers
• being chronically put down for the way we felt or for what we believed
• hostile relationship between parents, with siblings & with step-parents

RELATIONAL
• parental infidelity, bitter divorce or loss of another long-term relationship
• our own painful relationships, being belittled, misunderstood, abused or ignored
• being cheated on / betrayed – sexually, emotionally, financially
• our confidential information betrayed by a trusted friend, relative, spouse or professional …..

SOME RESULTS
• we get so caught up in unresolved grief that we can’t open ourselves up to others, terrified we’ll be left alone again, as if we’re still living in that household & still 5 years old!

• because of S-H, we can’t believe that we deserve attention, or anyone’s care & concern for us, so have a problem trusting even the positive, healthy & consistent behavior of someone who is sincere

🕕 ACoA thoughts / beliefs about NOT Trusting
Re. OTHERS
• there’s no such thing as a healthy relationship
OR – I wouldn’t know a healthy relationship if it fell on me!
• marriage is a prison sentence – I’ll be trapped & used
• I can’t seem to find any good friends or good partners – so why bother looking?

• as soon as you let yourself care about someone – they leave you!
• I’m never letting anyone ever get close enough to me again so I won’t be vulnerable anymore
• people don’t really improve or change, & any ‘reforming’ is temporary or just fake (like an alcoholic getting sober).
No matter what they say, it’s all manipulation to get their way.  If I let myself believe & relax my defenses, I’ll be devastated when they go back to their old ways

Re. OURSELVESunsafe world
The only way to survive & protect myself is to avoiding people as much as possible, because:
• I’ve been hurt so much & by so many in the past
• all men / all women are dishonest
• everyone’s out to get the most they can (from me)
• no one respects me
• if I let my guard down someone will step on me OR all hell will break loose
• if I open myself up people will use that info against me…. so how can I trust anyone?

 ♦️LACK OF TRUST can CAUSE:
• Arguments with others, because of intruding on their privacy, about what we think are their ‘suspicious’ activities, their lack of openness – often leading to retaliation from them
• Anxiety in us, especially when we don’t know where a loved-one is & we’re convinced they’re not being honest

• Deception by a partner or child who’s being controlled & boundary invaded. They may sneak around, either to do the bad things they’re accused of OR just to get some privacy & peace of mind
• Fear of reprisals, from ourselves for our accusations (guilt, shame, S-H), & AT them for not being what we want (trying not to punish them)

• Fear of risk, because we never got the mirroring, support & feedback to make scary changes, AND which we can’t receive in the present if we don’t trust anyone
• Low self-esteem in others, which we ‘encourage’ by constantly investigating them, questioning, following (suspicion is the opposite of acceptance)
• Miscommunication, or lack of communication, because we’re afraid to let others know what we really need, want or feel

MOVIE: “All This & Heaven Too”, 1940, staring Bette Davis. An excellent portrayal of a disturbed personality – the Count’s wife, played by Barbara O’Neil – is a needy, barbara-oneilnarcissistic, desperately clingy & demanding shrew.

She has a deep fear of abandonment, is constantly suspicious of her husband, & rejects her children because they interfere with having him all to herself. This drives the children away from her & the Count into the arms the loving nanny – the very thing that makes her even more distrustful & enraged – leading to tragedy.

NEXT: ACoAs – OVER-Trusting (#1)

ACoAs: Lack of TRUST (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, coaching, mental health, Problem-Solving, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , ,

con man
WHO CAN I DEPEND ON?
for sure NOT my family!

PREVIOUS:
 Early Trust Betrayal

REVIEW post: ‘Parents Blaming us’

 

LIFE STAGES:  Erik Erikson, a German psychoanalyst heavily influenced by Freud, developed a psycho-social theory of personality development, which included the impact of external factors (parents & society) ON our:
• ego identity (the self)
• personal identity (what distinguishes one person from another)
• social/cultural identity (social roles we might play)

Erikson’s theory says every person must pass through a series of inter-related stages over the entire life cycle —>   AGES:
1. Infant   (Hope) – Basic Trust vs. Mistrust 
Birth to 18 mths
2. Toddler  (Will)    – Autonomy vs. Shame
18 mths to 3 yrs (MORE….)

IN Infancy (Stage 1) the main emphasis is on parental ability to nurture & care for the child, especially using visual contact & touch, so that :
• in a safe environment the child will develop confidence, optimism, security & trust
• in an unsafe home, they’ll develop insecurity, worthlessness & general mistrust of the world

In an episode of LIE TO ME, (TV series, Fall 2010), Dr. Lightman says:
“The way to make a disturbed personality is: Constant Criticism & Lack of Affection – it works every time” !

DEF. of Legitimate Trust
Re. OURSELVES 
• be able to rely on our own observations, judgement & intuition
• when exposing vulnerabilities to someone, assume they won’t take advantage of or abuse our openness, but know we can’t control their reactions
• have confidence placed in us by someone else, & accepting the obligation that entails
Re. OTHERS
• identify how someone is going to act (predictably good or bad) & gauge our probable losses & gains. It’s based on what we already know about them, using their past performance as a guide
• have a firm belief in the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing, from our own experience, or based on accepting the opinion of a highly reliable source
• Hope: to be able to rely on something or someone in the future / to expect a specific outcome with assurance

NOTE
• The Healthy Adult ego state knows no one can be perfectly dependable, & that the wish for it isn’t possible – so we wouldn’t expect it.
Secretly demanding others to be absolutely 100% ‘safe’ (before we can trust) is UNrealistic,  which makes us vulnerable to always getting disappointed, leaving us in the same old place – convinced that ‘no one’ is trustworthy

• There are legitimate reasons to not trust certain kinds of people – especially the not-so-obvious narcissists! – which we definitely need to acknowledge, & then stay away from.
Past experiences with them should not be ignored, especially as we become sure of our ‘evidence’.

EXERCISE : Keep a log for a month (or as long as needed) of each time you feel unsafe with someone, & see what patterns show up. Then take a small, definite action to change the situation or your part in the relationship

unsafeMISUNDERSTOOD
ACoAs often say : ‘I can’t trust anyone’ –  the focus being on people outside of ourself. This is B & W thinking & not totally accurate. Although it[s true that our parents were not safe, most of us do have/ or have had a few people throughout our life who have proven themselves trustworthy (even if not perfectly!).
❇️ Instead – trusting needs to be focused internally – on our own intelligence.

MAIN reasons we say this ⬆️ – is that unhealed ACoAs :
a. haven’t learned to trust our own observations, experience, & intuition!
b. keep picking & staying with toxic people, & keep getting burned. Strange that we’re surprised each time!
c. want / expect / demand the assurance that whatever or whoever we put our trust in will never ever let us down, disappoint, abandon or hurt us!

This demand is:
• B & W ‘all or nothing’ thinking (a CD) – typical of children & thdemanginge emotional immature
• the position of the WIC, who wants everyone to be the good parent we never had, so we don’t have to grow up & take care of ourselves
• an expression of co-dependence – being focused on others, outside of ourselves, instead of internally listening to what we know to be true

NEXT: ACoA Lack of Trust (Part 2)