Disentangling from Emotionally Immature People

Today, we’re joined once more by Dr. Lindsay Gibson, clinical psychologist and author of numerous books, who you’ll remember from Season Two when we spoke about overcoming the impacts of damaging parents – or as Lindsay names them, “Emotionally Immature Parents.” Since that last podcast, Lindsay has released another book just last year, to offer even more help with how to deal with Emotionally Immature People (EIPs) in general.

I love the title of Lindsay’s new book, Disentangling from Emotionally Immature People: Avoid Emotional Traps, Stand Up for Your Self, and Transform Your Relationships as an Adult Child of Emotionally Immature Parents! The word disentangling, in particular, seems apt because I think we all often feel entangled, bound up and wound up as a result of relationships that have harmed us, and continue to harm us.

If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, your emotional needs as a child were likely not met or were dismissed—and you likely have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, and abandonment in adulthood. 

And now, in adulthood, we continue to be confronted by people with similar “emotionally immature” characteristics—and they can be damaging to us. They tend to be me-first people, with little regard for others. They may not respect you as an individual—which can be isolating, hurtful, and lonely. Emotionally Immature People are often unpredictable, volatile, and difficult to handle.

As adult children of emotionally immature parents, we may be especially vulnerable to EIPs. But we are not powerless! Lindsay’s latest book helps us to avoid common traps, build confidence, and stand strong in our selves, without guilt, shame, or fear so we don’t become entangled with Emotionally Immature People in our adulthoods.

In this podcast, we’re going to deep dive into disentangling from Emotionally Immature People so we can transform even our most challenging relationships into happy and healthy ones.

For more resources, visit www.OvercomingChildSexualAbuse.com and www.End1in4.org