Children of Narcissists: Escaping the Family Cult

Yes. Maybe more so.

There are children who escape. Their parent is somehow incapable of making them fear the world, their parent is incapable of making the child declare and constantly prove their love, the parent is not capable of building an us against the outside world feeling in the child. They child may have decent relationships in the outside world. The children who get away don’t feel puffed up with pride by their parent. They don’t get high on the false superiority. They aren’t overly dependent on, nor responsible to, or grateful towards the parent.

Some kids just face abuse. They are able to develop bonds outside of the household. They can compare their parent unfavorably to other parents. They can see a better life away from the parent. So they can develop and leave.

But some narcissistic parents have extreme power and control over their children. They not only terrorize the child, but manage to control the child’s interpretation of the outside world. So the kid is wedged between a rock and a hard place. The parent may triangulate them with the outside world. Have the world harshly interpret and treat their child. But beside the parent, they are able to be someone, to find a way to feel pride, superior. At the same time, they are constantly relating to the parent, arguing or struggling to make their…