16/04/2025
👀 Ever felt like your parent’s love came with conditions? You might be dealing with a narcissistic parent.
🧠 A narcissistic parent sees their child as an *extension of themselves* — not as an individual. It's all about control, validation, and maintaining their image.
🚩 Common Red Flags:
- “I love you *if* you make me look good.”
- Guilt-tripping and emotional manipulation
- No respect for your boundaries
- Constant criticism masked as “tough love”
- Over-involvement in your life (a.k.a. no privacy)
- Competing with you, especially when you’re doing well
🎭 2 Main Types:
1. The Grandiose Narc: Loud, boastful, expects perfection
2. The Covert Narc: Plays victim, uses guilt, seems fragile but is still controlling
💔 How It Affects You:
- Chronic people-pleasing
- Low self-worth and identity struggles
- Fear of setting boundaries
- Guilt for choosing yourself
- Doubting your own emotions
🛡️ How to Heal:
- Recognize the pattern (you don’t need their validation)
- Set emotional boundaries — they matter
- Release the need for their approval
- *Reparent yourself* with compassion
- Therapy helps. So does community.
- Going low contact or no contact? That’s self-care.
💬 You are not alone. And healing *is* possible.