When Your Narcissistic Parent Isolates You (10 Tips that can help)

There is nothing worse than having to be a minor living under the same roof with a narcissistic parent.

Your living grounds become constant battle grounds.

You have no support.

No one believes you if you were to tell them, since narcissist has perfected their "excellent parent and person" image.

What can you do to keep your sanity until you are old enough to leave the house??

1) Build up your self esteem by reading. At high school you have the availability of a computer....read up on self esteem, how to view yourself in a healthy way...this will help you combat the narcissistic parents constant distortion of reality as to who you are!!

2) Talk with someone at school....a teacher you trust and feel comfortable with, a mature friend. Do not keep it all bottled up inside. At school you can reach out to people, even if you are isolated at home.

3) Get involved with afterschool activities, if not at school then possibly a babysitting job. Let the narc parent think this is being done for him/her...If they suspect this is for you and your happiness they will not allow it. This means you may have to give any money you make to the narc parent.....but you will be having time away and this will help with your sanity.

4) When the narc parent insults you...instead of soaking up every word like a sponge...picture them saying these things into a mirror...the truth is they are projecting their own feelings...so why should you feel bad?? Imagine that they are insulting themselves and you are simply observing instead of absorbing.

5) Every night before going to sleep find 5 things that you liked about yourself that day...learn to see you even if the narc parent doesn't.

6) Use your narc parent as an excellent example of everything you DO NOT want to be when you grow up. He/she screams....you think when I grow up I want to make my feelings known in a calm demeanor; He/she insults...you think when I grow up I want to give respect to my family and speak to them how I would like to be spoken to; He/she fights over nothing....you think when I grow up I am not going to create drama over nothing, I want my family to feel welcome around me not as if they have to walk on eggshells. Use the narc parents example as a teaching lesson.....of what not to be!

7) Are there neighbors that you reach out to? Be careful with strangers...but do you know your neighbors? Do they know your narc mom? If you are able to find ways to be around healthy people and away from the toxic people you live with...this will help. But remember....it always has to be about the narc soooo...if you have an elderly neighbor you can reach out to you can tell narc parent: Mrs. So and So needs help cleaning her house since she is elderly and she said you must be an excellent parent because she said she trusts me so do you think it would be ok to go to her house on Mondays and clean for her and help her, she really seems to think highly of you for her to trust me, etc.

8) Make healthy friends, spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself.

9) Find hobbies that you enjoy...reading, writing, jogging, exercise, art..spend time doing things that make you feel good about yourself.

10) Is there a family member who knows how awful the narc really is? Can you reach out to this family member???