Sadly, too many people grow up in loveless families. They grow into broken adults who always display the same specific traits. You’ll find 18 examples of these traits in this article.
Argumentative
People who grew up in loveless families often grow into argumentative adults. They are this way because they grew up among people who were always fighting and have learned that this is the right way to communicate with others. They don’t know how to communicate reasonably.
Temperamental
Many people are temperamental. They get into a mood quickly and get angry fast. You’re never sure how this kind of person will react to different situations. People who were raised in loveless households are often temperamental because their parents always behaved in the same way.
Angry
According to the British Association of Anger Management, “64% of British workers have experienced office rage, which is defined as an outburst of anger in the workplace.” Many of these outbursts occur because of unresolved anger issues from childhood. People who grew up in angry, loveless families tend to be angry people.
Bad Listeners
If someone was never listened to by their parents when they were a child, they might find it hard to listen to others when they get older. They are this way because they aren’t used to having people listen to them. They have the tendency to talk over others and get distracted while other people speak.
Reserved
Reserved people are sometimes this way due to the trauma they faced as children. They don’t know how to open up to people because they’ve never had someone take a personal interest in them. They struggle to express themselves to their partner when they start a relationship.
Quiet
A person who grew up in a household where there wasn’t a lot of love might have never been able to make their voice heard. Because of this, they are not used to expressing themselves. This person might grow into a quiet, introverted adult who finds it hard to speak in front of a large audience.
Violent
Many children who grew up in loveless households were treated badly. They saw their parents beat each other, and may have suffered abuse themselves. “1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence,” show statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Vindictive
People who were not loved as children might still harbor a lot of resentment toward their parents. These unresolved feelings of anger might make them vindictive. They could find it difficult to forgive their parents and never try to have a good relationship with them.
Selfish
A person who didn’t receive any love while they were growing up has learned to look after themselves. They had to put themselves first because no one else ever would. Because they are so used to this way of life, they find it tricky to put others first.
Manipulative
A person who was often manipulated in a family without love might grow up to be the same way when they are an adult. This person might try to bully others into doing what they want because this was the way they were always treated.
Grudge
Forgiving others is very important. “Forgiveness encourages compassion. You are able to relate to others as part of the human experience. You feel for others as you do for yourself,” says Psychology Today. Someone who did not receive a lot of love as a child might struggle to forgive people as an adult and always hold grudges.
Skeptical
A person who has never experienced love as a child could find it hard to accept love when they become adults. When you try to show them love and affection, they might become wary and wonder what your true motives are. They have learned to be skeptical.
Negative
People who never experienced love in their lives could struggle to see positive things in their lives when they get older. Because their childhood was so negative, they presume that their adult life has to be the same way. In their minds, there’s no cloud with a silver lining.
Stress
A person who didn’t have any love in their family life wouldn’t have had anyone to turn to when they felt stressed. They have never learned a healthy way to deal with stress, and as a result, they don’t know how to control their stress levels as adults.
Shy
Why are some people so shy? “Shyness is partly a result of genes a person has inherited. It’s also influenced by behaviors they’ve learned, the ways people have reacted to their shyness, and life experiences they’ve had,” says KidsHealth. Some of these experiences could be from growing up in a loveless family.
Wary
People who grew up in families where love was never shown might grow into wary adults. They don’t trust others to be nice to them because no one has ever treated them well. Because of this, they find it very difficult to let their guard down and open up to people.
Insecure
Many people feel insecure about themselves. A lot of these feelings stem from the fact that the person was raised in a loveless household. Because the people closest to them never showed them love, they doubt that anyone else could. They find it very hard to trust other people.
Isolation
A person who never felt the warmth of a loving family might have spent their entire childhood alone. Because they were always isolated from others, they find it hard to interact and make friends with others as they get older. They’d rather be alone than spend time with others.