Everyone has a parent but not every parent is a nurturing parental figure. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a bonafide mental health disorder impacting hundreds of parental figures. It is often left undiagnosed and untreated creating generational trauma among family lines. NPD has over 9+ potential qualifiers, with the additional manifestation of either overt or covert subtypes. Moreover, Parental Narcissism illustrates a parental figure who, due to their own insufficient emotional regulation, self-esteem, and autonomous development, is unable to provide a child with the attention, validation, or emotional security a growing child needs.
Parental figures who suffer from NPD show grandiose entitlement and self-importance. These parents often seek admiration from others but can lack empathy to connect with others. Furthermore, they exploit their children and use harsh criticisms while also exhibiting hypersensitivity to personal criticism or feedback. One of the most damaging parts of this mental health condition is Parental Figures with NPD are often ignorant of their condition. They fail to recognize the harm they create in their children, craving, instead, the power the manipulation derives. Children nurtured in a narcissistic parental home suffer anxiety, depression, nervous system dysregulation, dissociation, and at times addictions.
Extensive research has shown narcissistic parenting adversely affects the psychological development of children. As an evidenced truth, it is easy to bridge a progression from childhood narcissistic family-systems to a learned adverse conditioning in adult children who were raised by narcissistic parental figures. Treating the blame, shame, and guilt accumulated by this style of childrearing is essential to helping survivors thrive. Teaching survivors’ methods to let out, let go, and move forward is the road toward restorative healing and revitalization.
