Throughout the month of May, Alix and David are discussing psychological and emotional topics related to motherhood and mother-child relationships. This week on the Wake the F*** Up Podcast our hosts take a deeper dive into the concept of Mother Wounds, examining their impact on individuals, particularly in relationships. Alix opens the episode with a question from a listener following last week’s episode on attachment styles, “How do I know if I have a Mother Wound? What are the signs?”
Alix defines the phrase Mother Wound as “Anything that happened to you in your childhood that was imprinted by your mother and her inability to meet all your emotional needs. If a Mother Wound is severe enough it can create an attachment style or an attachment disorder. A mother wound is like an imprint on your body and it manifests in your deep psyche.”
Alix discusses how so many of the rooted problems that we have in our life come from an inner child wound, whether from your father or your mother or any caregiver. Also recognizing that no parent is perfect and it’s neatly impossible to walk the path of a caregiver and not create some kind of mother wound along the way.
Alix and David discuss signs of mother wounds, such as being a perfectionist or a people pleaser. These likely begin in your childhood because you’re seeing the approval of your mom, but these wounds can manifest in adulthood in unhealthy ways. Mother wounds can have a detrimental impact on self-worth, relationships, and well-being.
Later in the episode Alix and David share advice and insights on how to address and heal from mother wounds.
Our suggestions include:
- Recognizing and understanding codependent patterns
- Setting boundaries
- Practicing self-awareness to acknowledge past traumas
- Self-care practices and somatic work for healing
- Seeing therapy to address wounds and learn coping strategies
- Self-compassion, affirmations, and inner child healing practices
Throughout this episode, you’ll hear Alix talk about the importance of reparenting oneself to address and heal from mother wounds. The meeting concluded with discussions on tools for inner child work, shadow healing therapy, and managing depression through self-awareness techniques. Taking care of oneself for personal growth and emotional presence for loved ones was highlighted, with plans for upcoming resources on mother wounds and courses for deeper exploration.
