RuptureEverAfter.com

What if the thing that shaped you most wasn't something that happened — but something that never did?

In this episode, Mechelle and Monte get personal about Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN): the invisible wound left not by what parents did wrong, but by what was simply never there. Drawing from Dr. Jonice Webb's groundbreaking book Running on Empty, they explore how high-functioning, capable adults can carry a quiet ache they don't even have words for — and why so many people blame themselves for it.

Monte shares what it felt like to grow up with every material need met, yet still miss something he couldn't name. Mechelle shares a rare audio recording from her own childhood — a tender moment with her mother that captures exactly what emotional attunement looks and sounds like. Together, they trace how the presence or absence of these small, consistent moments shapes the adults we become and the marriages we build.

This episode is for anyone who grew up in a "good enough" home and still wonders why something feels missing.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

https://44a76cfb-87ac-406f-aa1d-2ca93f8824bd.usrfiles.com/ugd/44a76c_0864f553f3274a40962138f489ea551a.pdf

The Wholeness Network Podcast with Jonice Webb

https://www.thewholenessnetwork.com/podcast/episode/38b65603/24-dr-jonice-webb-running-on-empty

Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect

https://amzn.to/4t14Dee

Mother Hunger: How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance

https://amzn.to/3Ni12t5

The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living

https://amzn.to/4d1ohlB

The Wholeness Network

https://www.thewholenessnetwork.com/

Jackie’s Podcast

https://healingpathsrecovery.com/addiction-recovery-podcast/

Keywords: men and emotions, emotional healing, attachment styles, attunement, childhood trauma, nervous system, secure attachment, anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, disorganized attachment, marriage podcast, relationship healing, emotional intelligence men, suppressed emotions, inner child healing, rupture and repair, IFS coaching, marriage after trauma, emotional awareness, childhood wounds, adult relationships, men's mental health, relationship podcast, couples therapy, emotional safety

Our links give us a small portion of sales but do not affect your price.

Information is not intended as professional advice and is for entertainment only.

For years, the fights didn't make sense. The shutdowns, the spiraling, the moments where all that we had built seemed to disappear — and neither of us had the language for what was actually happening.

In this episode, we share the moment we discovered Complex PTSD and emotional flashbacks, and how that discovery cracked something open. Not as an excuse. Not as a diagnosis to hide behind. But as a map — finally — for the terrain we'd been stumbling through together. If you've ever wondered why your partner's reaction felt wildly out of proportion, or why you suddenly weren't there anymore mid-conflict, this one's for you.

Buy

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving:

https://amzn.to/4d2qfly

Emotional Flashback Management

https://www.pete-walker.com/pdf/emotionalFlashbackManagement.pdf

Such Pretty Forks in the Road by Alanis Morissette

https://open.spotify.com/album/2eOvsabOLLh9ibyANQiFFM?si=RECt--UBQsatW6HZQPI30Q

TWN Podcast The Crappy Childhood Fairy - Anna Runkle CPTSD

https://www.thewholenessnetwork.com/podcast/episode/2ffacbf6/30-the-crappy-childhood-fairy-anna-runkle-cptsd

The Crappy Childhood Fairy Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZlDCbFTqHkzV_rUP4V5bg

Thanks for Sharing Podcast

https://healingpathsrecovery.com/addiction-recovery-podcast/

Keywords: CPTSD in marriage, emotional flashbacks relationships, complex trauma couples, Pete Walker CPTSD, trauma responses in relationships, nervous system dysregulation marriage, trauma-informed relationship podcast, gray divorce

Information is not intended as professional advice and is for entertainment only.

A week after sharing three haunting childhood stories, Monte woke up with a realization he couldn't keep to himself. In this follow-up to our attachment and attunement episode, he traces the terror feeling again to a meditation session that derailed him years ago. We unpack how this feeling led to a lifetime of quietly believing he wasn't worth being liked. Monte and Mechelle explore disorganized attachment, intergenerational pain, the validity of anger, and what it feels like when IFS finally lets the locked-away parts breathe. Raw, real, and deeply freeing.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• How a morning meditation memory unlocked a new layer of healing

• The connection between the word “nasty,” a childhood injury, and a lifetime of feeling unworthy

• Why Monte ghosted 20 people — and what that has to do with emotional neglect

• Mechelle and Monte on the validity of anger and where it belongs

• IFS in action: how protective parts keep us safe and stuck at the same time

• What “brain chills” feel like — and why they matter in trauma healing

• The liberation of telling stories you’ve kept locked away

Breaking Free from Attachment Wounds: Reclaiming your secure base

https://www.thewholenessnetwork.com/challenge-page/breaking-free-from-attachment-wounds?programId=877f466f-b549-4d17-883a-e6729aa38747

Information is not intended as professional advice and is for entertainment only.

Keywords: childhood trauma, emotional neglect, IFS therapy, disorganized attachment, inner child, trauma healing, shame recovery, nervous system, parts work, mental health, attachment theory, trauma podcast