09/04/2026
I read a post that got a lot of traction:
Did you grow up with your mother calling you “b% #$s” and “h*$s”?
The thing is whether your answer is yes or no, it's not always about what was said.
Childhood wounds aren’t only created by what you did get, it can also be what you didn't get.
Affection.
Attention you had to earn.
Jokes about your body.
Praise that only came when you were helpful, quiet or achieving.
Attachment wounds are often formed through what was never clearly said but was repeatedly communicated.
In I Close My Eyes to Breathe, Keischa remembers watching her mother look in the mirror with disgust and say, “I’m so fat.”
Nobody called eight-year-old Keischa fat in that moment. But she still received the message:
Fat was something terrible to be.
By thirteen, she had learned to suck in her stomach when she laughed, pull at her shirt when she sat down and keep her jacket on.
Again, nobody had to directly tell her to hate her body.
Then she adjusted herself to feel acceptable.
That’s how attachment works.
So the question isn’t only:
“What did your mother call you?” It’s also:
“What did you learn you had to become to be accepted?
You may not have been called names but other things affect your adult relationships and narratives.
Follow Keischa’s journey in I Close My Eyes to Breathe and begin identifying the attachment story you’ve been living without realizing it.
Purchase your book and companion journal today.
Success Didn't Heal It™ is a thought leadership movement helping high-functioning women understand why achievement, competence, and success often coexist with high-functioning, perfectionism, emotional depletion, difficulty receiving support, and the pressure to carry more than their share.
