Mother's Day (and Father's Day, for that matter) can be a real minefield for a child of a narcissist. Should I heed the guilt and call? Should I protect myself and maintain the boundary? Why can't I find a card with the appropriate words? I know it wasn't me...but it was me, right?

Find some support here with Karyl McBride's article in Psychology Today:

"If you are a person with empathy and are sensitive to the emotional needs of your children and others, understanding that narcissists can’t do this is hard. This is why so many people keep going back to the empty well of the parent over and over, wishing and hoping it will be different: “If I just act better, love more, do what they want, maybe they will love me.” When it doesn’t happen, and the narcissist is not accountable, it causes more angst, pain and disappointment."

(If this really resonates with you, you'll also want to check out this gem from Dr. Laura Markham at www.ahaparenting.com, and perhaps also  this one about borderline personality disorder.)

Photo: Paramount—Faye Dunaway played a narcissistic (or perhaps Borderline?) Joan Crawford in the 1981 "Mommie Dearest," based on the memoir of Joan's adopted daughter, Christina Crawford, played here by Mara Hobel.