3 Ways Growing Up in a Toxic Family Can Make Our Life More Difficult

A lot of people have toxic family members. Negative family members affect our health and emotional wellbeing, which is exactly why we call them toxic. Their criticism, neediness, jealousy, drama, and manipulation bring stress and anxiety to our life.

Plus, they drain us emotionally and mentally, making us feel bad about ourselves.

If you had to grow around such people, you are probably facing certain difficulties in life that not everyone can understand. Coming from a toxic family can change the way you see the world entirely.

If you’re one of the many people who decided to cut toxic family members out of your life and stop being influenced by their negative attitude and behavior, then you must know that it was one of the hardest decisions you’ve ever had to make.

But, never forget that it was also one of the best things you could do for yourself.

You know very well that these people have done more damage to you than good. For that reason, if you’ve gathered the strength to stop communicating with them, congratulations!

You’ve probably suppressed a lot of anger, sadness, and resentment while growing up in a toxic family.  This is why you are probably experiencing the following hardships in your life.

3 Difficulties You Face Now Because of Your Toxic Family

1. You Have Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the many consequences of growing up in a toxic family. Your parents might forbid you to go to social events or hang out with friends. Or, they simply didn’t allow you to experience a lot of things that others kids experienced in their daily life.

All of this has made you an anxious person, or at least, has contributed to your anxiety.

One study published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry shows that a lot of adults with anxiety have grown up in a toxic and dysfunctional family.

The author of “Toxic Parents,” Susan Forward, explains that kids who are not encouraged to try, do, master, explore, and risk failure, usually feel inadequate and helpless.

These kids are over-controlled by fearful and anxious parents which makes them even more fearful and anxious themselves.

2. You Can’t Really Open Up to Anyone

Growing up in a toxic family has made you an emotionally unavailable person. This means you are hardly letting someone get close to you. It’s not that you don’t want to be close to someone, but the hugs, kisses, and all the emotional stuff makes you feel you have a burden.

You can’t easily open up to others, but that’s because you are afraid of being hurt. People coming from toxic families often have trust issues.

They usually hide their family from friends and partners because they don’t want anyone to see how toxic and dysfunctional their home is. Not being able to openly talk with their parents as kids are preventing them from forming healthy and stable relationships as adults.

Many of them are even confused about love – how it feels and what it really means. So, they end up believing love is something dramatic, chaotic, painful, and confusing.

3. You Question Your Senses and Emotions

Being raised in a toxic family means you’ve probably had to endure accusations and punishments for things you never did. You were aware that your parents were punishing you even when you were innocent.

So, you thought they did it on purpose. They used bad language with you, hurting you and confusing you about what is real and whatnot. They made you incapable of trusting yourself, your emotions, and your perception.

If you are a child of toxic parents, then you must recognize and accept all the ways you’ve been hurt. Only in that way you can heal and move on!