Parents who grew up without permission to acknowledge or express feelings often deny their children the same right. Repressed, these denied emotions become secret shame pockets, alienating us from others and sentencing us to life on the triangle.
God that is exactly how I was raised. My mother, in particular, has NEVER validated what I was feeling, esp. if it went "against" anything she believed to be the truth. The result? screaming, crying, bullying, name calling, making me feel worthless, etc. etc.
It is all really starting to make sense now.