Ignoring our pain multiplies it and produces suffering. It is a form of self-neglect.
Rumi, the 13th century Sufi poet, wisely said “the cure for pain is in the pain.” It is not the denial or willful ignorance of our hurt, but the acceptance and acknowledgment of it that can lead to its cure.
Addiction, self-deception, perfectionism, suppression of emotions, attempting to control the uncontrollable through worry or obsessive behaviors, amongst a multitude of other things are ways by which we self-neglect. If it is love you seek then first provide it to yourself.
We cannot live by the golden rule “love others as you love yourself” if we don’t first understand what it means to truly love ourselves.