Trapped in the mirror : adult children of narcissists in their struggle for self
"There is a group of unrecognized victims whose number is very great. They often do not seek the help they need because they don't recognize they suffer from a problem for which there is a solution. These are the children of narcissistic parents." "All healthy people regard themselves as special beings capable of achievement and worthy of love. They stay in touch with their feelings and try to do their personal best. Their standards are internal and realistic since they have a good idea of who they are and what they can accomplish (such objectivity is not insignificant)." "Narcissists are wholly different. They unconsciously deny an unstated and intolerably poor self-image through inflation. They turn themselves into glittering figures of immense grandeur surrounded by psychologically impenetrable walls. The goal of this self-deception is to be impervious to greatly feared criticism and to their own roiling sea of doubts." "Because the narcissist's life is organized to deny negative feelings and to maintain an illusion of superiority, the narcissist's family is forcibly conscripted into supporting roles. They have no other option if they wish to get along. The narcissist's spouse must be admiring and submissive to keep the marriage going, and the children will automatically mold themselves to any image that is projected upon them."
Print Book, English, ©1992
1st ed
W. Morrow, New York, ©1992