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Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional NeglectAmazon Videos

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Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Kindle Edition

by Jonice Webb (Author), With Christine Musello (Contributor) Format: Kindle Edition

5,041 ratings

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This informative guide helps you identify and heal from childhood emotional neglect so you can be more connected and emotionally present in your life.

Do you sometimes feel like you’re just going through the motions in life? Do you often act like you’re fine when you secretly feel lonely and disconnected? Perhaps you have a good life and yet somehow it’s not enough to make you happy. Or perhaps you drink too much, eat too much, or risk too much in an attempt to feel something good. If so, you are not alone—and you may be suffering from emotional neglect.

A practicing psychologist for more than twenty years, Jonice Webb has successfully treated numerous patients who come to her believing that something is missing inside them. While many self-help books deal with what happened to you as a child, in Running on Empty, Webb addresses the things that may not have happened for you. What goes unsaid—or what cannot be remembered—can have profound consequences that may be affecting you to this day.

Running on Empty will help you understand your experiences and give you clear strategies for healing. It also includes a special chapter for mental health professionals.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Writing Running on Empty has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. Recognizing, talking about and sharing the concept of Childhood Emotional Neglect has changed not just the way I treat my patients, but also the way I see the world. My goal is to bring this powerful, invisible force out of the darkness, into the light of day. I want us all to have the ability to see it and talk about it, and stop passing it down to one generation after another. I hope you will find Running on Empty readable, enjoyable, and validating, just as I intended it to be.

About the Author

Dr. Christine Musello is a clinical psychologist who's recognized for her expertise in adolescent and young adult issues, as well as in treating mood disorders and trauma, including her work with returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Musello is based in private practice in Groton, Massachusetts.

Karen White has been narrating audiobooks of all genres since 1999. Honored to be included in AudioFile's Best Voices, she's also a four-time Audie Finalist and has earned multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Library Journal starred reviews.

Jonice Webb has a PhD in clinical psychology, and has been licensed to practice since 1991. Webb has been the Director of three large outpatient clinics over the course of her career. She currently has a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington, MA, where she specializes in the treatment of couples and adolescents. Webb currently resides in the Boston area with her husband and two children.

Jonice Webb, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and the author of the groundbreaking bestseller Running on Empty: Overcome your Childhood Emotional Neglect. Dr. Webb has been interviewed by NPR and the Chicago Tribune and has been featured in Psychology Today and Elephant Journal. She writes the Childhood Emotional Neglect blog on psychcentral.com. Dr. Webb has an outpatient psychotherapy practice in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009VJ4B4C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Morgan James Publishing (October 1, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5.2 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 251 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 161448242X

Best Sellers Rank: #19,568 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Self-Help for Abuse
- #6 in Emotions Self-Help eBooks
- #15 in Interpersonal Relations (Kindle Store)

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5,041 ratings

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Jonice Webb

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Jonice Webb, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist, speaker, blogger, and best-selling author.

Dr. Webb wrote the first book ever written about Childhood Emotional Neglect and is recognized worldwide as the pioneer of Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN). She created the first and only online Childhood Emotional Neglect Recovery Program.

Dr. Webb has been interviewed about her topic on CBS Boston Evening News, NECN Morning News, and NPR. Her work has been cited by The Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, Psychcentral.com, and The Elephant Journal. Dr. Webb writes a weekly blog on Psychology Today. She also provides professional training for licensed therapists in identifying and treating Childhood Emotional Neglect in their clients.

Dr. Webb offers weekend Childhood Emotional Neglect Recovery Retreats for therapists and laypeople. She has held them in Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina.

Dr. Webb runs a private practice in Boston, MA, where she specializes in treating Emotional Neglect in individuals, couples, and families.

BLOG: www.emotionalneglect.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/JWebbPhd

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkB4-oY0XAqv8kzBlYov34w

TWITTER: @jwebbphd

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5,041 global ratings

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Customers find the book insightful and life-changing, describing it as eloquently concise and a great starting point for understanding childhood experiences. They appreciate its guidance on emotional neglect and healing strategies, with one customer noting it provides multiple paths to recovery. The book receives positive feedback for its accuracy, though some find it boring. Customers disagree on the value for money.

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Insight Readability Emotional content Introduction Healing method Accuracy Value for money Boredom

288 customers mention "Insight"278 positive10 negative

Customers find the book insightful and life-changing, with one customer noting how it helped them understand their childhood experiences, while another describes it as a terrific exploration of a blind spot in therapy.

"...from this book will serve me well moving forward and provide more satisfaction and meaning to my own life...." Read more

"...It has wonderful insight into ideas and approaches for a wide range of situations and really helped me in my ability to know how to respond to..." Read more

"Generally a good book with good examples. Written for easy reading but the emotional content is high if you relate to the book...." Read more

"...For anyone who reads this book, it will definitely help you identify and articulate some of the feelings and experiences you've had since childhood...." Read more

272 customers mention "Readability"245 positive27 negative

Customers find the book readable and well-written, describing it as an eloquently concise and important work.

"...prevent the same from happening to our own children, it was all written so thoroughly in very easy-to-understand dialogue...." Read more

"I was recommended to read this book as a part of parenting and it's a great read...." Read more

"Generally a good book with good examples. Written for easy reading but the emotional content is high if you relate to the book...." Read more

"...I thought it would be difficult, but its not, its easy, and very quickly started to come naturally...." Read more

34 customers mention "Emotional content"27 positive7 negative

Customers appreciate the book's emotional content, particularly how it addresses overcoming emotional neglect and its strong resonance at home, with one customer noting how it provides comfort to those suffering in adulthood.

"...Written for easy reading but the emotional content is high if you relate to the book...." Read more

"This book does an excellent job of describing the adversities, emotions, and common experiences of those who have experienced "childhood..." Read more

"Webb makes some good points about emotional neglect and overall describes what a person may be experiencing as a result...." Read more

"...have CEN issues, this book provides a jolt of recognition and a sense of relief...." Read more

34 customers mention "Introduction"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book serves as a good introduction to the subject, with one customer noting it provides clear guidance on how to parent yourself.

"...Webb describes how victims of CEN can understand and forgive their parents’ inadequacies, heal themselves, and break the cycle of CEN being..." Read more

"...But it is not! Dr. Webb has great empathy for adults as parents and adults who think back to the "white spaces" of their childhood...." Read more

"...Wow! So eye-opening. It explains why my mother's insistance when I was a depressed teen that I just think more positively didn't work and in fact..." Read more

"...I'm a restoration life coach and this book has revolutionized my coaching and has given me a greater understanding as to what I dealt with so I can..." Read more

17 customers mention "Healing method"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's healing methods effective, providing strategies that help them feel restored, with one customer noting immediate results.

"...it would be difficult, but its not, its easy, and very quickly started to come naturally. My younger child also started talking more openly to me...." Read more

"...The healing began. We are now stronger than ever in our love and support for each other...." Read more

"...the inclusion of worksheets and a plan of action that moves people towards healing." Read more

"This book has been the ignitor for healing wounds that existed...." Read more

8 customers mention "Accuracy"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's accuracy positive, with several noting it hits the nail on the head.

"...It was intense. But spot on...." Read more

"...and coins the term, "emotional neglect" with such detail and accuracy it's almost scary...." Read more

"This book hit the nail squarely on the head!..." Read more

"This was a really good book. It hit the nail on the head with respect to my childhood...." Read more

12 customers mention "Value for money"7 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's value for money, with some finding it priceless while others consider it not worth the price.

"...Worth every penny!" Read more

"...space in the book we’re paying good money for, that do not contribute anything of substance (they’re blank and highly simplistic)...." Read more

"Perfect sale - ordered last night and got it delivered this morning! Book as described - New! Will buy from seller again." Read more

"...Lots of tissues. Very painful to read, but well-worth the investment." Read more

12 customers mention "Boredom"3 positive9 negative

Customers find the book boring, with one mentioning it lacks content and another noting it's too in-depth to follow.

"...Additionally, the worksheets are super boring & repetitive—they’re strictly for tracking behaviors & don’t include good guidance for actually..." Read more

"...It lacks content... it's like having the aperitif before a meal but there was no main course to follow...." Read more

"...in this book to be very salient to the discussion and without unnecessary repetition, the research science (which really tickles my ADHD brain) that..." Read more

"...same idea numerous times, gives repeated examples that are bookish and boring. Basically asks person to fix themselves...." Read more

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Lindsey
Couldn’t put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2024
Verified Purchase

Wow! This book was incredibly eye-opening and provided so much insight into childhood emotional neglect! I always knew I was missing something in my adult life but I could never really put it into words. The author didn’t leave one stone unturned: from the different types of neglectful parenting styles, the long term effects on the emotionally neglected child in their own adult life, the skills to repair the damage and the final pages explaining how to break the cycle to prevent the same from happening to our own children, it was all written so thoroughly in very easy-to-understand dialogue. I truly believe the lessons and tools I’m taking from this book will serve me well moving forward and provide more satisfaction and meaning to my own life. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s follow-up book, “Running on Empty No More” next. Highly, HIGHLY recommend!

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SouthwestScientist
Great read with wonderful insight as a parent
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025
Verified Purchase
I was recommended to read this book as a part of parenting and it's a great read. It has wonderful insight into ideas and approaches for a wide range of situations and really helped me in my ability to know how to respond to different situations with my kids. Even if emotional neglect wasn't something you experienced you will get value out of this book as a parent.

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SouthwestScientist

Great read with wonderful insight as a parent

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025
I was recommended to read this book as a part of parenting and it's a great read. It has wonderful insight into ideas and approaches for a wide range of situations and really helped me in my ability to know how to respond to different situations with my kids. Even if emotional neglect wasn't something you experienced you will get value out of this book as a parent.

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3 people found this helpful

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Kathryn Krippendorf
It's a book for the average person, not the professional.
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024
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Generally a good book with good examples. Written for easy reading but the emotional content is high if you relate to the book. Good behavioral exercises at the end of the book to address prevalent weak areas for adult children of emotional neglect.

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9 people found this helpful

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BryanML
Describes CEN perfectly, but lacks adequate cognitive discussion
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2017
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This book does an excellent job of describing the adversities, emotions, and common experiences of those who have experienced "childhood emotional neglect" (CEN) or "emotional deprivation."

By reading this book you will see what it's like to be someone who has experienced CEN. There is a lot of descriptions of people who have experienced this in their life whom the author has worked with to help them feel better. If you want to understand why you feel so bad about yourself or life, this book will describe the situations you encounter perfectly. If you have a really hard time explaining why you have low self-esteem, depression, feel like a failure, even if you had a good childhood, this will explain your circumstances perfectly.

Understand that CEN doesn't mean you were emotionally abused, or verbally berated as a child. It also doesn't mean your need for food, clothing, a warm home, 2 parents loving parents were not met. What CEN is about is people who didn't get the proper emotional guidance and understanding when they were children, therefore they grew up not quite understanding how to deal with their emotions and the adversities in life.

The author then explains what I would call a behavioral approach to changing your emotional difficulties. I would recommend buying the ebook and then the audiobook as an add-on. The paper or ebook will have a better description of the charts needed to track your behavior and eventually change it.

Finally I'd like to give a critique of how the book and perhaps the method itself leaves out a thorough discussion of what is known in Cognitive Behavior Therapy as "cognitive distortions" or simply negative thinking.

I myself, suffer from the symptoms of CEN such as low self-esteem, feelings of emptiness, self directed anger and self-blame, poor self-discipline, difficulty understanding and identifying my own emotions, and even suicidal thoughts. So this book really helped me to articulate many of the feelings and internal experiences that I was having in my adult life, despite being raised in a good family.

When I say the book lacks discussion of cognitive distortions, what I mean is that humans all have the ability to think (sometimes neurotically) about our own thinking. I believe many people with CEN may have experienced similar lack of emotional guidance experiences in their life, but that they also lack cognitive guidance and therefore obsess about why they feel bad, with such thoughts as, "I must not be normal because simple situations make me feel so inadequate. If other people have to deal with these feelings and they are ok, then I must be a totally rotten failure. I must be broken in some way and maybe nothing can fix me." We often tremendously blame ourselves for feelings that are actually quite normal given the circumstances. We think of the world as unfair, we put ourselves down as worthless, or think of others as worthless for not helping us or understanding us. We often can't stand the feelings so much that we desperately consider suicide as the only way out.

For anyone who reads this book, it will definitely help you identify and articulate some of the feelings and experiences you've had since childhood. But what I think has been very helpful for me in addition to this book, are some of the books by Albert Ellis using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. What should be addressed in Dr. Webb's book is how to catch ourselves in distorted thinking patters where we demand that life treat us fair. You don't need more "tough love" from friends or therapists, not that Dr. Webb uses that kind of approach. But what I think all people, but particularly those who can identify with being CEN, should know is that the only thing we can control is our own attitudes and internal philosophy about life. It's important to address this part of your thinking if you have CEN.

In conclusion, I really do like this book, and recommend it as it will give you a better understanding of what symptoms you may have previously been unable to explain. Just remember to follow up with addressing your thoughts about those symptoms.

Also get the paper or kindle book to go with the audiobook.

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900 people found this helpful

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Naomi D.
it was like the author knew my family
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
I read this book 4 days ago and already its completely changed my life. I have been trying to figure out for decades now why, despite success in many areas of my life and seemingly solid family of origin, I have always had anxiety and trouble with relationships and connecting with other people. My kids seem to be inheriting this, and since my older child was diagnosed with depression and anxiety a few years ago, I've always had this suspicion that its at least partly my fault, or that something I was doing was causing this. I've had trouble connecting with my kids and being that loving family everyone else seems to have, but for the life of me i couldn't figure out how to fix it. I read tons of parenting books, all would help a bit, but none really got to the root of the issue. Finally I googled "am I causing child's anxiety" and it led me to an article referencing this book. I downloaded the book and immediately recognized myself and my family of origin in this book...wow. It was intense. But spot on. Page after page after page, it was like the author knew my family, watched my childhood, and now was predicting how I was repeating this pattern with my own kids. I wasn't giving my kids the emotional support they desperately needed because i had not received it myself and had no idea what I didn't know. But all is not lost, as the author provides guidance on fixing this. And it all makes so much sense. I read the book in one night and started implementing the tools right away, and the results were immediate and drastic. My tween daughter and I had a lengthy conversation about what's been going on in her life, and just by doing what the author suggests - identify, accept, attribute, act - she poured her heart out to me for 2 straight hours, at least twice saying "I've never told anybody this..." Wow. Just wow. The next day, I continued to do this. I thought it would be difficult, but its not, its easy, and very quickly started to come naturally. My younger child also started talking more openly to me. We're having great dinner conversation. The kids haven't been fighting, and when they do instead of yelling or getting mad at them for bickering, I'm approaching it from the perspective of IAAA, and the fights have fizzled immediately on their own! Its like magic. I am so thankful to the author. My only regret was not having read this 20 years ago!!!

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929 people found this helpful

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Sherry C
Therapist recommended
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2025
Verified Purchase
My therapist recommended. It helped me understand so much about myself. Very informative and there is "homework" to assist with making changes.

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Rachael Low
Wow
Reviewed in Australia on September 20, 2022
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This is the first book I've come across that so perfectly describes my lived experience. Thank you for giving me the tools to heal from this.

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Diana Yañez
Excelente libro
Reviewed in Mexico on July 14, 2020
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Con un lenguaje fácil de entender y con muchos ejemplos

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PeeJay
The profound damage of what I never knew was missing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
I stumbled across this book through an Internet marketing training video, it was a case study which piqued my interest. Brilliant website, videos that made me well up, what was being said resonated powerfully with me. Buying the book became an immediate top priority. I could relate to so much of what Jonice has so incredibly eloquently described, she has been incredible in defining and understanding this invisible condition. Where do you begin to describe the effects of the absence of something invisible? I am not alone! :-) it all makes complete sense. I have much work to do to "fix" myself but having this awareness now is a major leap forward, at least I have now understand why I am the way I am and why I have struggled with so many aspects of my life.

There should be a standard set of books that pre parents are mandated to read and this should be top of the list. Thank you, Jonice Webb, for your amazing work here and unravelling the mystery of myself.

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ony
This book made so much sense, wish I had found it 20 years ago
Reviewed in Germany on May 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
For an emotionally neglected person struggling to find place in this world this is a must read. It picked up on so many of my own problematic behaviors which I kinda knew were there but didn't pay attention to, gave me insight on them and simple tools how to try gently correct them. It also made me realize that what I thought had been going on with my parent(s), was wrong and they were in fact described in a whole another section to a T. Just being aware of that, how you neglect yourself cause you never learnt better and how things should have been instead, already has a tremendous effect on how you try to move forward from there. It makes me less guarded and more open to understand, myself and others. It also makes me very aware how emotional neglect shows up in other people close to me, how they shut down, get defensive and don't know how to express themselves properly. Lot of things in the book might be "common sense" to a healthy person, but some of us, who never had that sensible model from the get go, _need_ to hear and learn these like they were a child again; how to be a human.

Book is very easy read and has a good suggestion list of books on how to continue on your journey after this and depending your own situation - several which I already ordered.

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Rafael Bianco
Bom mas poderia ser melhor
Reviewed in Brazil on November 13, 2022
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O livro contém várias informações úteis para quem é terapeuta e para leigos, senti falta de exercícios mais específicos e orientações científicas para cada caso. Não serve como guia terapêutico, apenas informacional.

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Great read with wonderful insight as a parent

Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn’t put it down!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read with wonderful insight as a parent

Great read with wonderful insight as a parent

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4.0 out of 5 stars It's a book for the average person, not the professional.

5.0 out of 5 stars Describes CEN perfectly, but lacks adequate cognitive discussion

5.0 out of 5 stars it was like the author knew my family

5.0 out of 5 stars Therapist recommended

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro

5.0 out of 5 stars The profound damage of what I never knew was missing

5.0 out of 5 stars This book made so much sense, wish I had found it 20 years ago

5.0 out of 5 stars Bom mas poderia ser melhor

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Couldn’t put it down!

Great read with wonderful insight as a parent

It's a book for the average person, not the professional.

Describes CEN perfectly, but lacks adequate cognitive discussion

it was like the author knew my family

Therapist recommended

Wow

Excelente libro

The profound damage of what I never knew was missing

This book made so much sense, wish I had found it 20 years ago

Bom mas poderia ser melhor