If you grew up in a dysfunctional family, you may have been treated with contempt. When your parents looked at you with disdain rather than love, that was contempt.

The term “flying monkeys” comes from the classic film The Wizard of Oz. The wicked witch enlisted these creatures to do her bidding. They followed her instructions regardless of their evil intent.

Growing up in a system of dysfunctional family roles can be confusing. You’ve never known anything different, so it may take a long time to realize you’re part of a toxic machine.

First of all, family estrangement is more common than you think. If you’re in the difficult position of having to limit or go no contact with family members, you’re not alone.

Loneliness, heartache, isolation, and feeling misunderstood add layers of pain to family estrangement.

My mother suffered with an undiagnosed mental illness which made her incapable of experiencing empathy or compassion.

If you’ve had to go no contact with toxic family, you know the strength required to protect yourself this way. Often decades of internal work go into reaching such a drastic conclusion.

You may have wondered if you’re a member of a dysfunctional family. But how can you know for sure Symptoms vary but here are five hallmarks to look out for.

Dysfunctional families do this one thing that kills communication. It happens when one member of the family has a problem with another.

If you played the role of family scapegoat, others targeted you for shame, blame, and abuse to avoid looking at themselves and their own problems.

Narcissists lack the most important components of parenting: empathy and compassion. If you were raised by a narcissist (or two) you’ll suffer the consequences of their deficiencies.

If you grew up with emotional neglect, chances are you’ve created a false self to survive or try to win your parents’ love and affection.

If you experience sibling rivalry, you may wonder how someone raised in the same household could have such a different perspective on your family dynamics.

The scapegoat is first mentioned in the Bible as a living sacrifice. The community releases the scapegoat into the wild to carry away with it the sins of the whole group.