 Do you feel happy anticipation at the thought of getting together with your parents? Or do you feel uneasy and drained just thinking about a visit? If you find yourself choosing the latter, you may have a toxic parent. Now the occasional upset or conflict with your parent is totally normal. Edging to the realm of a toxic parent is far more than the rare shouting match. It's true that we've had previous specific pieces on toxic parenting, such as between mother or father, and daughter and father, or mother with son. Here, we're aiming to present the commonalities between all of them, with a general parent to the offspring relationship, raising awareness of the issue. Here are the most common signs that could signal that you have a toxic parent. 1. They're self-centered. They'll say they love you, yet it's always their wants, needs, and emotions that take first and full priority, no matter how it hurts you. 2. They're not empathetic or sympathetic. Toxic parents don't show any remorse over the pain they've caused you, nor empathy when you're hurting. You're not viewed as important enough to ask anything about, meaning your day, what you like, or even your opinion. 3. They're rude and disrespectful. This isn't the same as being blunt, or to be confused with raw honesty. We mean they couldn't even be bothered to treat you with any decency or basic courtesy. They don't thank you for anything, even if you put in massive effort. Any suggestion you make may be responded to with mockery. You feel a little less human around them. 4. They overstep your boundaries. We've spoken about boundaries and how they're important. These types of parents will intrude on all of your personal space, despite you asking them not to. They treat access to your privacy as their right, freely rifling through your things like your drawers, or maybe even your phone. 5. They're overly demanding. Overly demanding is a constant overload from your parents of nothing being quite enough, and palpable dissatisfaction at the perceived lack. You can't just shoot for the stars. You have to own the universe, and you'd better comply without any argument. Demand, demand, demand. Take, take, take. 6. They belittle you. We were all children once, depending on our parents to make decisions like not having candies for breakfast. The point of growing up, though, is that you grow up and form your own agency. When your parents continue to treat you like an infant, believing they have to do all the thinking for you and ignoring what you have to say and all of your opinions or a joke to them, that's toxic. 7. They control and or dominate you. Controlling, dominating, and overbearing. This is the worst possible recipe that results in the being known as the smother. This toxic parent micromanages your life and ensures that you do exactly as they tell you. They might even force compliance by bribing or threat of punishment. This dominating behavior is to foster feelings of smallness or being lesser so that you feel like you have no choice but to listen to them. How are you feeling? Are you already seeing signs like this from people who are parents? Well, hold on to your hats because there's more where this came from. So while you're liking and sharing this one, we'll travel together to part two.