The 7 Core Wounds That Shape Every Human Story

Why understanding your deepest wound is the first step to freedom

Every human being carries invisible scars. These aren’t the kind you can see on skin — they’re etched into the very fabric of who we are, written in neural pathways and lived out in behaviors we can’t quite explain.

After years of research integrating psychology, neuroscience, and spiritual formation, a clear pattern emerges: there are seven core psychological wounds that account for nearly all human emotional suffering. Understanding which wound (or wounds) you carry isn’t just therapeutic curiosity — it’s the roadmap to your freedom.

These wounds don’t discriminate. Rich or poor, educated or uneducated, religious or secular — we all carry at least one. Most of us carry several. And until we understand them, they understand us.

Let me introduce you to the seven wounds that shape every human story.

1. The Wound of Abandonment: “I was left. I am alone.”

This is the primal wound — the terror of being left behind or emotionally deserted. It doesn’t require a parent literally walking away. Sometimes it’s a mother’s postpartum depression, a father’s emotional unavailability, or the simple unpredictability of inconsistent affection.