🎠What it means to have grown up with a narcissistic parent
Growing up with a narcissistic parent meant your childhood was spent managing their emotions, protecting their image, and learning that your needs always came second to their ego.
You may have become a tiny expert at reading emotional weather patterns, knowing exactly which version of your parent you'd encounter based on subtle cues others couldn't detect. Your achievements were either stolen and claimed as reflections of their parenting, or dismissed if they threatened to outshine your parent's own accomplishments. Privacy was a foreign concept - your diary, friendships, and personal thoughts were all subject to their scrutiny and control.
You may have learned to bury your authentic self so deeply that you sometimes struggle to know who you really are beneath all the adaptations. Setting boundaries feels impossibly difficult because saying "no" was treated as betrayal or rebellion. Now you find yourself attracted to relationships that recreate these familiar dynamics, or swinging to the opposite extreme and becoming emotionally unavailable to protect yourself from further enmeshment.