If you spent your childhood feeling more like a caregiver than a child, you might have experienced parentification—a role reversal where a child takes on responsibilities that should have belonged to an adult.

Maybe you were the one making sure your younger siblings were fed and dressed for school. Maybe you found yourself calming down your parent after their bad day or acting as their emotional support system. At the time, it may have felt normal—or even like something to be proud of. But the truth is, being forced to grow up too fast has lasting effects on your emotional well-being, self-worth, and relationships.

If you’ve ever felt a cloud of confusion surrounding your memories and emotions, you might be experiencing the effects of emotional gaslighting. This insidious form of psychological manipulation can leave you doubting your own perceptions and questioning the validity of your feelings.

Emotional gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where one person seeks to make another doubt their perceptions, memories, and feelings. This insidious tactic often manifests in family dynamics, particularly between parents and their children, leading to profound and lasting damage.

It is very likely that if you’re in a narcissistic relationship, you would have noticed some red flags at various stages. Maybe your partner was manipulative, played on your emotions, was gaslighting you, would blame you for things you didn’t do…