2024–2025 Research.
Raising A Narcissist — Genetics & Trauma.
Brains rewired to react versus respond.
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Children born into dysfunctional families run the risk of developing narcissistic traits of grandiosity for those overvalued, or vulnerability for those neglected and/or abused.
“Multiple ACEs are associated with impaired brain development, leading to structural and functional abnormalities, impaired emotional regulation, interpersonal behaviours, and sense of self-worth”
The cytoarchitecture of the young mind is such that the development of multiple regions of the brain is ultimately molded by the world the around them, most especially the relationships that help build their social reality. The development of vital neural pathways is dependent on strong emotional bonds with caregivers.
Emotional dysregulation is a common symptom of vulnerable narcissism, often subject to frequent bouts of rage or despondency and maladaptive impulsive responses, may find deep emotional engagement in media such as binge-watching movies and TV series’ protective factors against symptoms of dysregulation.
While we all find binge-watching protective, we can generally pull ourselves away to tend to our lives and relationships; whereas, such presentations are frequently demonstrated in people with narcissistic traits, particularly following a rage episode.
Narcissistic families are known to have golden, scapegoat, invisible, and runner children though; so what happens when children are overvalued AND neglected? — depending on who’s watching.
In a single child family, that child suffers the all roles required from a dysregulated parent.
Watching her siblings or other people get the chop pretty soon after being placed on the pedestal and knowing the height of her throne all depends on the height of her obedience and compliance, an overvalued golden child might feel she’s on tenterhooks.
As the developing narcissist battles with the trauma of their childhood experiences, the dysregulation places added energy on the brain causing stress hormones and a mind wired to react rather than respond.
The scapegoat, invisible, and runner children seem like they suffer the most, but their freedom from the narcissistic talons of a dysregulated parent.
Yes, the scapegoat is triangulated, even by his or her own family members, but the scapegoat learns the most from this form of entrapment and coercive control when they finally escape.
Invisible and runner children are scapegoated when the scapegoat is in the golden child’s position, though this is most often a temporary solution to a parent’s rage toward the lesser of the problem children!
When our minds are calm and not on alert all the time, we’re more capable of processing our thoughts and emotions and thus, how we behave and act to changing environmental factors.
Greater expenditure on the mind and body requires greater intake, whether it be physical, food or exercise; mental, thinking and responding; spiritual, losing touch or connection with others; or interrelational, harmed and harmful relationships — it is vital we take stock of our total health score.
You can do this briefly in your mind several times during the day, until it becomes natural to work on beating your previous score.
On a scale of 1 to 4, 1 being a feeling of diminished health or 4 for fantastic, how do you rate your physical, mental, spiritual, and interrelational?
For each realm of your health, what do you think you could do right now to improve your score?
Not all children of narcissists or abuse or overvaluing are destined to become the next generation of narcissists, and not all narcissists are them either, but it is important to understand some of the risks associated with parenting and adverse adult experiences.
