3 Ways To Establish Boundaries With Your Narcissistic Parent

As a child of narcissistic parents, you were never taught that you’re allowed to have some space or your own opinion. Now it’s time to establish some boundaries with your narcissistic parent.

However, some things are easier said than done. It’s not really a piece of cake even if it looks like one. You’ve been talked down your whole life, and now you decide to change all of a sudden.

Perhaps you’re worried that your narcissistic parent is going to start acting even worse. Maybe they’ll develop an even more toxic behavior towards you.

There are millions of questions swirling in your mind and they terrify you. You’ve been under their control for so long now that you’re not even sure if you’re capable of these things.

But you know you need to set some rules, the sooner the better. From personal experience, you know that things can quickly take the turn for the worse.

Therefore, if you don’t act on it, there’s a high chance you’ll keep living that miserable life. It’s not easy seeing other people be loved and cared for by their folks.

It makes you wonder if you’ve done something wrong? Is it you that made them that way? It’s not time to beat yourself up about the way your parents are.

Instead, take matters into your own hands and stand up for yourself. You’ve realized by now that your narcissistic parent isn’t capable of doing so, so who will then?

It’s about time to establish some healthy boundaries with your narcissistic parent now that you’re all grown up. Moreover, it’s time to show them that you’re your own person who can make decisions by yourself.

How to establish boundaries with your narcissistic parent?

If you’re looking for ways to establish boundaries with your narcissistic parent, you’ve come to the right place. Narcissists can be quite a handful, but don’t worry.

I know you’re scared because, after all, they’re your parent and they kind of know how you breathe. It feels unreal that you’re doing this right now, but you have to protect your mental health.

It’s not healthy having a controlling or emotionally unstable parent. It highly impacts you and your point of view on life in general.

Don’t worry, these tips and tricks will help you stop that toxic behavior. If not, they’ll help you realize that toxic behavior can’t even touch you, let alone affect you!

1. Ignore them

First of all, keeping a cool head all the time is a must if you want to establish some boundaries with your narcissistic parent.

They’re actually just driven by emotions and insecurities, so they tend to act on impulse. What you can do to soften their hard blows is to simply ignore them.

Take your attention away from them when they start behaving badly towards you. If you try to talk back or explain yourself, it will only give them a reason to continue with the atrocities.

It’s like adding fuel to the fire, really. Children of narcissistic parents don’t get anything in return except maybe some extra mouthful. Oh, and don’t forget just how much that drains you out.

These encounters can basically suck the life out of you and you won’t have the strength and energy for anything else. Therefore, don’t argue and keep it safe.

Change your strategies and take no notice of what they have to say. If you do, you’re only giving them a reason to bother you some more.

2. Speak up

No, this isn’t the same as talking back. You shouldn’t say something to a narcissist when they’re all worked up. They’ll only end up hurting you more by saying mean things to you.

On the contrary, you shouldn’t keep your mouth shut when you want to clarify something. If you feel like they don’t understand you or misinterpret your words and actions, speak up.

Don’t let your voice go unheard in those situations because we all know that silence is the answer after all. If you don’t fight back, there’s no reason for them to stop the behavior.

This is one of the ways that can help you establish boundaries with your narcissistic parent. Also, finding your voice can boost your overall confidence and make you trust yourself more.

It’s vital to have that inner strength when dealing with such toxic people. You may feel bad for voicing your thoughts and opinions that oppose theirs.

However, don’t. If you show remorse, they’ll make you regret the day you’ve opened your mouth to speak. From that moment on, they’ll use every opportunity to make you feel bad about standing up for yourself.

3. Keep calm

If you let your emotions get a hold of you, it won’t do you any good. Trust me, you’re only going to regret it later on.

It means you’re giving your narcissistic parent a response which implies adding fuel to the fire. If you respond with hostile words to their hostile behavior, that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Your parents won’t know that they’ve crossed the line if you mirror their actions. They’ll be unaware that you’re not fond of it and start to think that you’re used to it and accept it.

However, this is totally untrue. You can only establish boundaries with a calm tone and presence. That way, you won’t give them a reason to delve into a further argument with you.

This will eventually save you a lot of trouble. It works especially well with the first step, ignorance. Mix these two and you have a recipe for guaranteed success.

Dealing with a narcissistic parent can always be surprising, but it’s nice to have a little bit of reassurance here and there.

Narcissists are just like out-of-this-world creatures. It’s as if they have a sixth sense that makes them feel your vibe.

Because of that, they can easily sense your negative energy when you’re around them. I know it’s a hard task to stay positive around people like those, but it’s a must.