How Does Growing Up With A Narcissistic Parent Shape Someone’s Personality?

Find Out Here

Afshara
2 min readSep 9

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Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels

Growing up with a narcissistic parent, the person might not have had much choice as a child besides trying to please the narcissistic parent. Undoubtedly, having a narcissistic parent as a child will affect how that person views himself or herself and their place in the world. This suggests that while growing up the child could have acquired negative qualities or toxic mindsets about their worth and sense of purpose. It is also possible that the child tried for years to win a narcissistic parent's approval, respect, and affection only to be continually let down.

So, how can we identify if someone was raised by a narcissistic parent? Well, in order to do that you can analyze these characteristics:

  • a lack of dignity or self-confidence
  • persistent feelings of shame or self-loathing
  • excessive sensitivity to rejection or criticism
  • dependent relations in which they must “earn” affection and approval
  • lack of freedom or independence throughout childhood influences depression and anxiety
  • lack of awareness and respect for healthy boundaries
  • problems with regulating emotions in a healthy way
  • being competitive to earn someone’s affection
  • a sense that they are not deserving of happiness and success
  • Self-harming and unhealthy habits
  • either internal gaslighting or self-criticism

Final Takeaways:

The specific challenge of having a narcissistic parent can be detrimental to one’s physical and emotional well-being. But it’s never too late to make some changes and acknowledge the part narcissism played in your self-actualization.

There are a variety of alternatives, including CBT and EMDR, to cope with trauma. Besides, establishing healthy goals, and developing and maintaining healthy relationships are also helpful ways of coping.

Thank you for reading

This article is intended for educational and awareness purposes only. Please seek professional guidance for more

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Afshara

Ph.D. Candidate (Mgmt)| Educator |Content Writer | Writing about things that intrigue my curious mind | https://beacons.ai/afshara17