Highly Critical Parents

Imagine your 10 year old self, sitting there, listening to your mom tell you all the things you did wrong. Your face, flushed with fear and shame, and a bubbling anger. You wish you could scream back, but you're stuck frozen in place, silent.

 

When you think back to that time, you rationalize to yourself that your parents had the best intentions. But still yet, the anger bubbles. You can't help but feel ashamed for feeling anger. Afterall, they sacrificed so much for you.

 

A lifetime of criticism, you now find it impossible to trust your instincts. You might feel like you can’t speak up for yourself without fear of being criticized or dismissed. So you try your best to please everyone, deathly afraid of their rejection and judgment.

 

Deep down, you might wonder why your self-worth feels so fragile. Why is it so hard to believe you are enough—just as you are?

 

This is the reality for many of us who grew up with highly critical parents.

 

You may have experienced some of the following behaviours from your parents: criticism, guilt-tripping, gaslighting, blaming, silent-treatment, and controlling.

 

It’s hard to recognize this as a form of mistreatment, especially when you’re culturally taught to respect your parents above all things.

 

But this mistreatment leaves a lifetime of pain and struggles. The constant need to put others first, the fear of speaking up for yourself, and always worrying you did something wrong — it can all feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

 

If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore what healing could look like. In our work together, we’ll build towards healthier boundaries with your parents. And we’ll reconcile with the discomfort that your parents have sacrificed a lot for you, AND have also hurt you.