I often hear from adult children of narcissists. Their stories are painful and long, often overshadowing entire decades of their lives. Children of narcissists carry guilt about not being "good enough" and living up to parental expectations. If your parent is a narcissist there is nothing on earth you can do to please him/her if you are not the chosen one, that special sibling the narcissistic mother or father picks to be the star and icon for the entire family.
At the end of a very long road there are adult children who finally cannot tolerate the verbal abuse, accusations, emotional coldness and all out rejection and pernicious psychological projection and evil revenge----They must speak the truth. I hear from them and read about it in many blogs. Some have been sent packing, losing everything, including material possessions, opportunities to be secure financially and to be part of a family.
Narcissistic families are not families at all. They are business arrangements negotiated by the narcissist to benefit him/her alone or a favorite of his. The matriarch or patriarch of the family makes all the rules. He or she comes first, even if that is psychologically devastating to other family members. Some narcissistic parents bring in people who are not family members and "adopt" them because they are very attractive, bright, creatively gifted and venerate the narcissist and know just how to play up their egos. In some cases the father or mother will eventually "dump" the other spouse and develop a romantic relationship with this once outsider and marry him or her. You can imagine the horrendous emotional upheaval this kind of irresponsible and callous behavior causes the narcissist's children. Can you see the wedding party--the young bride who is a decade younger than the narcissist's children, who was picked to supersede them and in some cases will inherit everything the narcissist owns. I have witnessed these scenes and they are very distressing.
These atrocious behaviors are occurring more often than most people can imagine. If you are the adult child of a narcissistic parent, learn to identify this fixed personality disorder by study and research. Protect yourself from their venomous projections. You may have to go no contact. This is very difficult for many adult children. You cannot change the narcissist---this is a severe fixed disorder that usually had its beginnings in early childhood. Focus on your own self entitlement--your right to think in freedom, the express your feelings, to appreciate your authenticity, to maintain your physical and psychological health and to continue to grow as a valued individual. To learn about every facet of the narcissistic personality, visit my website: www.thenarcissistinyourlife.com
Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life.
Buy the book: amazon.com and amazon kindle edition
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com
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