Abandonment issues and neglect are usually the result of early childhood trauma such as the loss of a parent, physical or emotional neglect, abuse, or rejection, but they can also be triggered in adulthood by the sudden loss of a romantic partner through death, divorce, or a painful breakup.

Feeling abandoned by someone you love can be devastating, crush your self-esteem, and lead to dysfunctional behavior patterns such as sabotaging existing relationships in an attempt to protect yourself from getting hurt.

Left untreated, the effects of abandonment and neglect trauma will continue to resurface, negatively impacting the way you perceive yourself and relate to others. At Stone Oak Christian Counseling in far north San Antonio, Texas, we offer compassionate, faith-based treatment for abandonment issues to help you overcome the challenges you face.

Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(210) 961-8365

I feel unheard, unvalued, and as though I’m never good enough. Nobody seems to understand me or care. Can you help me figure out what is wrong with me?

You could be experiencing the negative impact of abandonment issues and/or neglect trauma resulting from early childhood experiences that made you feel you could not rely on others to take care of you or be there for you.

Infants and young children are dependent on their primary caregivers for survival, and their beliefs about how the world works are largely based on how their caregivers interact with them and respond to their needs.

These beliefs then turn into deeply embedded assumptions that feel very real and true, even though they may not be, and that determines how you perceive yourself and others, how you react to the world, and how you interpret the things that happen. 

Signs of abandonment issues

Following is a list of common signs of abandonment issues. If several of them resonate with you, this could be at the root of your problems.

  • Inability to trust others
  • Pushing others away in order to avoid rejection or holding on to them too tightly
  • Feelings of worthlessness
  • Feeling unheard and unvalued
  • Needing frequent reassurance and validation
  • Engaging in self-destructive behaviors
  • Insecurity in relationships
  • Over analyzing what others may think of you
  • Overthinking things that happen to try and find a hidden meaning
  • Fear of being abandoned or rejected
  • Being excessively needy or clingy
  • Going to extreme lengths to try and preserve a relationship
  • Staying in unhealthy relationships due to a fear of being alone
  • Having a need to control others
  • Fearfulness in social interactions
  • Engaging in self-sabotaging behavior
  • Fear of intimacy
  • Eating disorders and/or substance abuse
  • Feeling flawed and unlovable
  • Being drawn to people who will treat you poorly
  • Choosing friends or partners who are emotionally unavailable

Yes, with God’s help, the maladaptive coping skills you have adapted to try to protect yourself from being hurt can be overcome and reversed.

Stone Oak Christian Counseling offers faith-based therapy for victims of abandonment and neglect. The Christian counselors in Stone Oak, Texas can help you get to the root of your fears, build self-esteem, establish healthy boundaries, communicate more effectively, develop realistic expectations, and learn how to trust again.

Stone Oak Christian Counseling can provide you with a safe space where, with the help of a trained, licensed, supportive Christian counselor, you can explore and address the abandonment issues you have been unable to identify on your own.

Following are some specific ways your counselor in Stone Oak, Texas can guide you through the healing process, assist you in understanding the underlying factors leading to your thoughts and behaviors, and equip you to take the necessary steps to recover from the damage they have caused in your life and relationships:

  • Help you identify your hurts and fears and how they are impacting your life
  • Help you rewire your thinking by examining your story and making sense of it
  • Help you get to the root of your issues so healing can begin
  • Validate your feelings and emotions
  • Identify and challenge negative beliefs you have about yourself
  • Identify and replace faulty assumptions with more realistic ones
  • Help you learn to trust yourself and others
  • Equip you with healthy coping strategies for responding to anxiety and enabling you to enter into healthy, loving relationships
  • Use techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you reframe your negative thought patterns and behaviors and heal from the wounds that have led to distrust

If you would like to make an appointment for a risk-free initial session with one of the Christian counselors in Stone Oak, San Antonio, Texas, please give us a call today.

Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(210) 961-8365