Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: Practical Tools to Establish Boundaries and Reclaim Your Emotional Autonomy

Lindsay C. Gibson

May 2019 · New Harbinger Publications

About this ebook

In this important sequel to Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, author Lindsay Gibson offers powerful tools to help you step back and protect yourself at the first sign of an emotional takeover, make sure your emotions and needs are respected, and break free from the coercive control of emotionally immature parents.

Growing up with emotionally immature (EI) parents can leave you feeling lonely and neglected. You may have trouble setting limits and expressing your feelings. And you may even be more susceptible to other emotionally immature people as you establish adult relationships. In addition, as your parents become older, they may still treat your emotions with mockery and contempt, be dismissive and discounting of your reality, and try to control and diminish your sense of emotional autonomy and freedom of thought. In short, EIs can be self-absorbed, inconsistent, and contradictory. So, how can you recover from their toxic behavior?

Drawing on the success of her popular self-help book, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, author Lindsay Gibson offers yet another essential resource. With this follow-up guide, you’ll learn practical skills to help you recognize the signs of an EI, protect yourself against an emotional takeover, reconnect with your own emotions and needs, and gain emotional autonomy in all your relationships. This is a how-to book, with doable exercises and active tips and suggestions for what to say and do to increase emotional autonomy and self-awareness.

If you’re ready to stop putting your own needs last, clear the clutter of self-doubt, and move beyond the fear of judgment and punishment that’s been instilled in you by emotionally immature parents, this book will help you find the freedom to finally live your life your way.

Ratings and reviews

It feels like a re write of her book adult children of emotionally immature parents and seems hurried. And rather than make it more concise she shortens and abbreviates terms like emotional immaturity (EI) and I walked away feeling like I just bought her other book for more income.

I gobbled this book up!!! I was brought up by a narcissistic mother who should never have had children. This book described my life growing up. I got mixed messages from my mother all the time. She always chose what was best for her because it was always about her. My father was the opposite but he enabled my mother. Because this book explained what happened to me when I was growing up and created an awareness and understanding, I cannot say enough great things about this self help book!!!

On some level, you know your childhood wasn't the norm. Than one day you realise it wasn't just abnormal, it was toxic. Slowly you begin to realise you find social situations harder to navigate, whether with family or personal compared with others who had healthier relationships with their parents. This book walks you through what happened to you, why it happened, how it makes you feel, how to accept what has happened and how to move forward. I don't know how to verbalise just how beneficial this book has been.

About the author

Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice who specializes in individual psychotherapy with adult children of emotionally immature (EI) parents. She is author of Who You Were Meant to Be, and writes a monthly column on well-being for Tidewater Women magazine. In the past, she has served as adjunct assistant professor of graduate psychology at the College of William and Mary, as well as at Old Dominion University. Gibson lives and practices in Virginia Beach, VA.