"Relationship Tuesday" Physical & Emotional Neglect in a Relationship

What it means
An emotionally unavailable person cannot build physical closeness, despite being there physically. You know the monosyllabic conversation you have with your partner when he's glued to a cricket match. Imagine that to be his or her response to every situation. Such individuals give a feeling of not being available when the other one needs them the most, be it sister, parent, friend or spouse. They wouldn't be the first person you would call up in times of crisis or distress. Those on the receiving end of such a relationship feel unloved.

What it means
An emotionally unavailable person cannot build physical closeness, despite being there physically. You know the monosyllabic conversation you have with your partner when he's glued to a cricket match. Imagine that to be his or her response to every situation. Such individuals give a feeling of not being available when the other one needs them the most, be it sister, parent, friend or spouse. They wouldn't be the first person you would call up in times of crisis or distress. Those on the receiving end of such a relationship feel unloved.

How it affects relationships
Emotional neglect is very harmful to relationships as the other person is not there, sometimes even physically. Such a person finds every excuse to avoid situations which demand emotional attention, instigating the spouse to look for another emotional anchor. A child deprived of emotional security may extract it from the other parent, sibling or spouse. However, an unresponsive spouse makes the other feel unwanted and unloved, raising levels of discontentment in the relationship, and eventually leading to the partner to seek an anchor outside the marriage. A woman may turn her complete attention on the children, which can lead to over-protection and over-obsessive behaviour.