Did you grow up in a toxic family? These 8 signs will tell you

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Jan , 27. 12. 2025

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Try, therefore, to better understand your inner world. Understanding the causes of our fears and anxiety can help us heal them and thus improve the quality of life.

You fear manipulation

Quite often it happens that toxic families use manipulation to control other family members. This behavior is not normal and becomes emotional abuse. As a result, you may sometimes feel that you trust other people less and it complicates your friendships or romantic relationships. The feeling of constant manipulation by your family can also lead to a deterioration in behavior.

You have problems with social interaction and trust

When someone is raised in a tense atmosphere, surrounded by manipulation and other psychological abuse, it leaves considerable marks on them. Some parents may not have been able to provide their child with the necessary support, while someone else might live in a family where they feel they must always be on guard. Later it will be difficult to get rid of the feeling that you must always be in that state. In the end you may have problems trusting other people.

If we constantly see and experience physical or emotional abuse, mistreatment and neglect, we form our own image of relationships. These people may not understand what care and a healthy relationship between people looks like. They always subconsciously expect someone who will overreact, be excessively demanding, blame them for something or disappoint them.

You have a hard time handling failure

Children raised in a toxic environment can constantly feel as if they are not always good enough, or even worthless. Their parents always place unreasonable demands on them and blame them if they fail to meet their expectations. They have built low self-esteem and may not know that they too are full members of the family or society. Therefore even the smallest mistake or failure can frighten them and lead to an outburst of anger.

It’s difficult for you to understand who you are

Positive family “respect” is a critical element for us when we talk about our mental health. It is as important as a sense of love and belonging. If the relationship between a child and their parents is full of insults, then the child may begin to have problems with their inner world, their identity and self-esteem. The result of such upbringing is anxiety or even depression.

Self-criticism

The low self-esteem created by toxic parents causes the child to feel stupid, unworthy and undeserving of something better. Whatever these children do, they criticize themselves, hesitate and have doubts. They have accepted the idea that they are worse than others, which causes them suffering, but they cannot change it because they do not receive the necessary psychological support.

You don’t give your emotions the attention they need

Verbally or physically abusive parents neglect their children’s emotions. Moreover, if children try to express their emotions, it can lead to even worse treatment by the family. As a result, children get used to hiding their pain, resistance and anger. In their lives they begin to prioritize others’ emotions over their own.

Suppressing emotions takes its toll on self-knowledge as well. It is difficult for them to understand who they are, how they feel and what they want in their lives. Therefore they cannot develop in areas of life that are important to them, because mentally they are still held back by insecurity and lack of understanding.

You always feel like a helpless child

Toxic parents sometimes refuse to perceive their child as an adult person. Regardless of how old their child is, these parents always try to treat them like a helpless kid. They want to control and boss them around, and if the child resists, they start acting offended to make the child feel guilty.

If the child is not allowed to make their own decisions, their privacy is invaded and they do not feel like an independent person, it can harm their mental health. This is also associated with the development of anxiety; they may be afraid to try something new and will not be able to fit into society.

You often experience anxiety

Children who come from toxic families often have diagnosed anxiety disorders. This happens because of family instability, poor mental or physical treatment and lack of safety. Children with anxiety have trouble concentrating and may feel irritable, restless, worried and tense.