What If Protecting Yourself Is the Honest Thing to Do?

You're Not Crazy: A Podcast for Cycle Breakers with Toxic Parents

Cycle breakers are often raised to believe that honesty = full disclosure and transparency… even when the other person has a history of weaponizing that honesty against them.

In this episode of You’re Not Crazy, we’re digging into the messy middle between brutal honesty and self-abandonment—especially when it comes to dealing with parents who have borderline personality disorder (BPD) or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

So many of us value being open and real because we didn’t get that growing up. But when it comes to setting boundaries with toxic parents, that same desire to be transparent can backfire—leaving us feeling overexposed, manipulated, and unsafe.

In this episode, I’m sharing:

• The difference between honesty and over-disclosure
• How I decide what to share (and not share) on this podcast and in my own life
• Why you don’t owe anyone—not even your parent—access to your most vulnerable truths
• And the underrated boundary no one talks about: walking away when you're being mistreated

→Ready to learn why your boundaries haven’t been working—and what to do instead? Grab my free mini-course at confidentboundaries.com/course

Register for my FREE mini-course, Why Your Boundaries Aren't Working With Your Toxic Parent:
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Torie Wiksell is a therapist and coach who specializes in working with the adult children of parents with borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. Torie brings a unique perspective having spent years working with clients with personality disorders and growing up with a mother she suspects had NPD with BPD traits. Torie provides online therapy to clients located in WA, OR, and CA, and online coaching internationally.
Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy. If you are in mental health crisis, please contact the Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.
You're Not Crazy is a podcast owned and produced by Torie Wiksell and Confident Boundaries, LLC.

Chapters

1. Welcome and Personal Update (00:00:00)

2. The Honesty Dilemma for Cycle Breakers (00:02:22)

3. Reframing Honesty: Finding the Gray Area (00:04:40)

4. Setting Boundaries Around Your Information (00:07:20)

5. You Can Walk Away from Mistreatment (00:10:21)

6. Episode Wrap and Free Course Promotion (00:14:02)