"Growing up with a narcissistic parent can feel like living in a world where the ground is always shifting beneath your feet. On the outside, these parents may seem charming, confident, or even charismatic. But behind closed doors, their children often experience something very different: a relationship defined by projection, unmet needs, and emotional abandonment. The truth is, a narcissistic parent rarely sees their child for who they truly are."
"The Shifting Signal Many children of narcissists describe the relationship as trying to track a satellite signal that keeps changing. When you adjust yourself just right-pleasing, helpful, high-achieving-you might receive a small reward: a compliment, a gift, or the fleeting hope that your parent finally sees you. But the next day, the signal is gone. The parent has shifted again, leaving you feeling foolish, inadequate, or desperate to try harder."
Narcissistic parents often appear charming and confident while creating relationships defined by projection, unmet needs, and emotional abandonment. Children become extensions of parental needs, expected to reflect worth, admiration, or envy rather than be seen as individuals. Love and attention become conditional, inconsistent, or withheld, producing confusion and craving. The relationship demands constant adjustment as parental moods shift, rewarding compliance sporadically and withdrawing affection unpredictably. Children learn to orient their identities around parental signals, prioritizing survival over authentic self-expression. Narcissists project inner wounds—emptiness, fear, and unworthiness—onto children, who absorb disowned neediness, rage, and shame.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]