Answer truthfully, do you think your parents, your family, and home life are perfect? Chances are you probably said no. But do you still think that your parents did a good job of raising you and giving you a good life? As we grow older, we start to appreciate our parents more because we become mature enough to realize that what they do definitely is easy. But with that maturity also comes a certain clarity that some of the things they do are actually doing more harm than good. Here are seven telltale signs that although your parents might genuinely love you, their actions are still toxic. Number one, they downplay your achievements. Do you ever get excited to tell your parents about your good news, be it a good grade, a promotion, or an award you just got, only for them to sour the experience by shrugging it off and downplaying your achievements? Oh, is that all? You can do better. They may tell you. It's emotionally draining and invalidating to never have your parents tell you you did a good job or that they're proud of you. Number two, they set their expectations too high. Similar to the last point, parents will sometimes set their expectations too high, because they think constantly pushing their child to be the very best they can be is what's best for them. But that kind of pressure takes a toll on a person's mental and emotional well-being, and no matter how much you achieve or how successful you become, you still find yourself feeling like a failure for not living up to your parents, unrealistically high expectations. Number three, they're overly controlling. Another way parents can love you in a toxic way is by smothering you with their overly controlling parenting. Some parents want to decide everything for their child and control every aspect of their life, because they feel they will always know what's best. Sometimes it's because they're just being protective and want to shelter you from the harsh realities of life. Other times, parents act this way because they're afraid their child might be going down the wrong path. Whatever their reasons may be, however, it still doesn't justify this toxic behavior. Number four, they treat you like a child. Have you ever felt like your parents still see you as a child and treat you like one? Do they ever talk down to you or act like you can't take care of yourself, that you don't know what's best or that you're incapable of deciding things for yourself? While it's only natural for parents to feel protective of their children and want to take care of them, no matter how old they get, it's also unhealthy to keep infantilizing them, disrespecting their boundaries and smothering them with too much attention. Number five, they taught you self-blame. When something bad happens to you, what do you usually attribute it to? If the answer is, myself, or something I did, then you probably struggle with a lot of feelings of guilt and self-blame, and it might be because the way you've been raised has taught you to feel that way. Parents may make their children believe that everything that happens to them is somehow their fault, because they didn't try hard enough or they did something wrong. Number six, they close off communication. Have your parents ever told you to just stop crying and put on a happy face instead? As well-intentioned as their advice might have been, the truth is, helping a child express and deal with their emotions in a healthy way is one of the most difficult but most crucial aspects of parenting. And unfortunately, some parents just aren't emotionally well-adjusted enough to do that. After all, how can you teach what you don't know? So instead of practicing honest and open communication at home, you've learned to be emotionally closed off like your parents taught you, and instead turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms like denial and avoidance to deal with your difficult emotions. Number seven, very emotionally unavailable. Last, but certainly not the least. Even if your parents were physically there for you and financially supported you, they can still be toxic if they were emotionally unavailable to you and deprived you of the love, warmth, validation, and acceptance you needed. It can be a difficult thing to accept, because you feel like you should just be grateful for what you have. After all, so many more people have it worse, right? But a parent's duty doesn't just end with showing up to pay the bills or go through all the emotions of parenting. Parents should be our pillars of strength and support in times of emotional need. So do you relate to any of the things we've mentioned here? Did watching this video make you realize that your parents might be toxic for you? Just because a person loves us doesn't give them the right to hurt us, whether or not it's done intentionally. So if you're emotionally or psychologically struggling right now, please do not hesitate to reach out to talk to a mental health professional today.