I’ve heard a lot about “daddy/mommy issues”, but what are those issues and how are they developed?
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I’ve only ever heard “mommy issues” or “daddy issues” as an insult. Apparently it’s a comment on lack of a healthy mother or father figure but I wouldn’t take it very seriously when used as flippantly as it is
Your parents are the most important developmental figures in your life. Knowing or not, you will seek out approval from “mom and dad” or other stand ins (coach / aunt and uncle / friends parents)
As you age up; the need for approval or relationship with this figurehead remains.
If you can not find a suitable standin who also reciprocates your needs of the “relationship” you can develop live long urges for that kind of relationship and often the relationships are unhealthy
There is no one “daddy/momm issues” set of traits; but often you can boil it down to…..
Act in fashion aaaa hoping to illicit response bbbb……so maybe you want the stern father figure. You might act out and just behave poorly; if your partner doesn’t sufficiently reprimand you. You remain unsatisfied and possibly escalate
Your partner is likely unwilling in participation and unclear as to what the “right” action or recourse is
It’s basically when a child doesn’t have the love and positive affection from a parent, they spend their life seeking affirmation from the opposite sex
A woman with daddy issues potentially grew up without a father or they had a neglectful/abusive father. They might be seeking to fill the void left by not having a strong male figure in their lives so they make bad decisions with men in order to get positive attention from men. In a nutshell, “I’ll do anything for a man to love me.” It’s a recipe for poor choices, promiscuous behavior, and abuse.
“<parent> issues” is a catch-all slang term for any perceived social or mental deficiency supposedly related to having a difficult or unusual upbringing. Understand that this is a slang term and doesn’t have any particular scientific meaning.
Your parents have a large amount of influence over how you develop, as they are a central pillar of your formative years. Parenting deficiencies, or parental personality flaws, can leave children with lifelong mental health issues and quirks that many never fully get over, even into adulthood.
Easy. Think of it like parents projecting their trauma onto their children, which can take various forms. Some parents are absent, unable to meet their child’s needs, while others are narcissistic. There are countless cases. Some parents may still feel like teenagers themselves. Ultimately, adults are grown-up children supposed to become “secure” in themselves, but many don’t. You can observe this in how people treat each other, regardless of age. Children absorb your energy more than what you teach them intellectually. When parents project a distorted view of gender roles through their actions, children develop various issues. For instance classic example in gen z culture, you might hear girls say, “I have daddy issues, and that’s why I sleep around with boys.” They may seek out the ideal men who resemble their father, hoping to fill the void left by his absence or to reconcile with the image of what they believe a man should be, only to end up feeling broken, just like their father made their mother feel. This cycle continues until someone decides to heal. By acknowledging and accepting their past, without judgment, they can break the cycle and foster mental health in their children. Reading Jung and Freud about mother and father complexes, as well as anima and animus, can provide further insight.
Hope this makes sense.
TLDR: How your parents interact with the world shapes your relationship with it.
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