Ever wonder why you can't stop thinking about someone who clearly doesn't want you back?

Look closer. The answer might be buried in your earliest years.

People who remain fixated on someone who's moved on often share a common thread in their past—they didn't receive enough attention as children. They weren't truly seen.

Think about it. When you're young and your emotional needs go unmet, you develop patterns that follow you into adulthood.

That feeling of being overlooked or invisible doesn't just disappear when you grow up. Instead, it shapes how you connect with others.

When someone finally gives you a taste of being seen—even briefly—it can feel intoxicating. Their attention fills a void you've carried since childhood.

So when that person pulls away, you don't just lose a relationship. You lose that rare feeling of being acknowledged, of mattering to someone. You're not chasing the person. You're chasing the feeling they gave you.

This explains why logical thinking fails. Your friends tell you to move on. You know intellectually that you should.

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But beneath your conscious thoughts, a child inside you is desperately holding on to that fleeting moment when the emptiness was filled. The pattern becomes a loop.

You obsess over texts, analyze every interaction, and imagine scenarios where they come back—all because letting go means returning to that original wound of not being seen.

Understanding this connection doesn't magically fix everything, but it shifts the focus from them to you. Your fixation isn't about their irresistible charm.

It's about your unmet childhood need for validation and recognition. Breaking free starts with seeing yourself clearly. With recognizing that no single person should be responsible for making you feel whole.

The attention you're seeking from someone else is actually attention you need to give yourself.

The child who wasn't seen then needs to be seen now—by you.