8 Signs You Grew Up in a Toxic Family

Tantrum attacks, anxiety, suppressed emotions and low self-esteem. Unfortunately, some parents end up passing on all these expressions of negativity to their children. The selfishness and indifference of fathers and mothers towards the feelings of their own offspring have a great impact on the little ones during childhood and even after adulthood. The result of this is that children begin to criticize themselves, feel helpless and have problems in their social life.

the team of awesome.club decided to delve deeper into the subject to help its readers better understand their inner world. After all, knowing the reasons behind our fears and anxieties can allow us to correct certain postures and live better.

In many cases, toxic families resort to manipulation to control relatives. On a day-to-day basis, this type of behavior is anything but normal, and it can turn into emotional abuse. Those who go through situations like this tend to trust people around them less and find it difficult to maintain relationships. Feeling constantly manipulated by the family can also cause the individual to avoid other people.

When a person is raised in an atmosphere of tension, being the victim of manipulation and other mental abuse, he ends up being “marked”. Some parents may not be able to give their children the support they need or, in another scenario, someone may be born into a family that requires an eternal confrontational posture. In cases like this, the individual ends up growing up and having difficulties to understand that he can relax and, finally, “let his guard down”. This makes it difficult to trust other people and open up to them.

Problems of this kind are difficult to deal with. By constantly seeing and experiencing physical and emotional abuse, abuse and neglect, victims of these situations create an idealized image of relationships. These are people who may not understand how affectionate and healthy connections occur between human beings. Even if unconsciously, they are always expecting everyone around them to exaggerate, be demanding, blame them for something or let them down.

Children raised in a toxic environment may feel all the time that they are not good enough or even worthless. Some parents make the mistake of demanding too much of their children, blaming them when they don’t meet their expectations. Changing into kids, the little ones grow up with low self-esteem and difficulties to take care of themselves. That’s why the slightest mistake or failure can freak them out or trigger a tantrum.

A positive attitude on the part of the family is a critical element when it comes to our mental health. It’s just as important as the feeling of being loved and belonging. When the relationship between a child and their parents is abusive, the little one can start to have problems with their inner world, their identity and their self-esteem. This, in turn, leads to negative effects such as anxiety and even depression.

Low self-esteem, when brought on by toxic parents, makes the child feel stupid, worthless, and unworthy of achieving something better. Children like this criticize everything they do, complain about themselves, hesitate and doubt all the time. They internalize the concept that they are worse than others, which causes mental suffering, but at the same time they cannot change the situation because they have not received the necessary psychological support.

Parents who abuse verbally or physically neglect their children’s emotions. In addition, when the child tries to express their own emotions, they can end up being even more mistreated by the family. As a result, the little one gets used to hiding his own pain, resentment and anger. And in the course of life, it is possible that these people end up prioritizing the emotions of others over their own.

Repressing emotions also negatively affects identity construction. The person cannot understand who he is, how he feels and what he wants from his existence. Thus, she fails in the task of developing in areas of life that are important to her, since, mentally, she is restrained in the face of uncertainties and the lack of something to identify with.

Toxic parents often refuse to see their child as an adult. No matter how old a person is, parents like this always try to treat them like a helpless child. They want to control and command everything, and when they face resistance, they play the offended so that their children feel guilty.

If the child cannot make their own decisions, have their privacy and feel like an independent person, their mental health will certainly suffer. She may develop anxiety, be afraid to start something new, and fail to fit in with society.

People who grow up in toxic families often have anxiety disorders. This happens as a result of family instability, physical abuse, or a feeling of insecurity. Anxious children tend to develop difficulties in concentration, and may have episodes of irritation, restlessness, exaggerated worry and tension in general.

Did you notice any of these traits in your parents? Have you ever been in a situation similar to the ones described in this post? Comment!