Of Parentification/Emotional Incest As A Form Of Emotional Abuse 2

Adults who were parentified as kids are more likely to suffer from depression and self-destructive behaviours if they do not find healing from the peril of parentification. As mentioned in the last article grown-ups who were parentified have a tendency to absorb the feelings of others as their own. They are ‘empathy crazy’.

Whlist empathy is a great virtue that is needed for the success of our relationships to some extent, there is a thin line between understanding the feelings of others by putting yourself in their shoes and taking responsibility for others’ feelings and lives. We all have an individual responsibility towards our lives. To voluntarily bequeath other adults’ individual responsibility for their own lives to ourselves is a sure way to sap and malnourish our essence. It is tantamount to giving and caring from a place of inner weakness and not from a place of inner strength.