✍️ Editor’s Note:
Zalman is my therapist—and my secret weapon.
When I was unraveling, he didn’t just offer support. He helped me see the patterns running my life and gave me language sharp enough to cut through them.
His insights show up everywhere in Permission to Be Powerful—because they changed me. Now I want them to reach you.
This is your introduction to Zalman, LCSW. You’ll be hearing more from him.
—Anton
Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,
Our emotional struggles in the present often have roots that run deep into the past — shaped by the emotional environments we grew up in, the way we were treated, what was said (or left unsaid), and the needs that went unmet.
As children, we adapt. We build defenses. We form coping mechanisms — not because we’re broken, but because we’re brilliant at surviving.
But what helped us cope back then often keeps us stuck today.
Emotional Deprivation: A Silent Wound
When a child doesn’t receive the emotional nourishment they need — love, warmth, attention, understanding — they don’t just “get over it.” They internalize it.
They carry it into adulthood as a quiet but constant ache — a feeling that something’s missing, even if they can’t name what.
If you’ve ever thought:
“I feel empty, like something’s just not there.”
“No one really gets me.”
“I’ll always be alone.”
“I’m too much… or not enough.”
That may not be anxiety, or neediness, or insecurity.
It might be emotional deprivation.
What It Feels Like
Emotional deprivation isn’t easy to detect — especially because it often starts before we had words to explain what was happening.
As adults, it can look like:
A chronic sense of loneliness, even when you’re not alone
Feeling emotionally numb or detached
An ongoing ache that no one will ever truly show up for you
A sense that your emotional needs are too much for others to handle
Some people cope by becoming emotionally intense — constantly needing more from partners, friends, or family.
Others avoid intimacy entirely — pushing people away as soon as things get close.
Some repeat the pattern by choosing partners who are cold, distant, or emotionally unavailable.
But in every case, the outcome is the same:
The child in you gets neglected all over again.
Why This Matters
Emotional deprivation doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It means you didn’t get enough of what you needed — and you’ve been trying to fill that void ever since.
Healing begins when you stop blaming yourself…
…and start reconnecting with your Inner Child.
That means:
Naming the emotions that come up when you feel triggered
Getting curious instead of critical when those feelings arise
Building a relationship with that younger part of you — and becoming the adult she needed all along
You’re not asking for too much.
You’re asking for what you’ve always deserved.
🔓 Want to Go Deeper?
If this resonated — and you’re ready to break this pattern for good — I’ve built a space just for that inside VIP.
In VIP, you’ll get access to tools that help you reconnect with your Inner Child, regulate emotional triggers, and start meeting your needs instead of outsourcing them.
💥 The Trigger Method Workbook
🧘 The Daily Practice for Emotional Hygiene
🧠 The ADHD X Factor
📖 Anton’s Memoir: Hell & Paradise
🧬 The AI Prompt Bible (for reprogramming thought patterns)
… and much more.
👉 Start your free 30-day VIP trial here.
Your healing doesn’t start with someone else giving you what you need.
It starts when you learn how to give it to yourself.
And I’d be honored to guide you there.
With warmth,
—Zalman, LCSW
