Nobody likes being played. And most people in toxic relationships – which we refer to better as “manipulationships” have no idea that this is exactly what our partners have been doing since the very beginning: using our empathy against us, and tapping on this wonderful quality to keep us “stuck,” or keep us coming back. One […]
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Let’s talk about boundaries, baby… When I was a teenager, I knew exactly what a boundary was. It was that invisible line we crossed over when my parents drove us from Arizona on our way to Disneyland. Welcome to California! When my first husband came along in my early twenties, I held tight onto my […]
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I certainly cannot speak for everyone, but I can tell you that you are not alone. I feel sad for you, because I have hoped for the same thing so many times and it never ended well. I’ve had a crazy roller coaster ride of hoovers, so I’ll try my best to share my thoughts […]
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My experience as a survivor and a therapist specializing in treating both complex trauma and narcissistic abuse syndrome has shown me that the violent personal assault inflicted by NPD abuse causes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in victims, irrespective of whether they present with a prior history of complex trauma. Accordingly, having somehow managed to keep oneself glued […]
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When we first met, I told my husband I was very “adaptable.” I didn’t realize the price of being a chameleon until I started recovery and my journey of individuation. By then I was dead inside. I’d spent years adapting to abuse and belittling that I’d absorbed. I was detached from my feelings and needs, […]
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Physically removing yourself is often not the most difficult part of getting out of a toxic relationship. What many people who have never been through it don’t realize is that once you’re out, an abuser’s voice remains in your head. Getting out of an abusive relationship is extremely difficult, and staying out is even harder. […]
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Know how to tell if a narcissist is lying? Their mouth is open. I’m definitely going crazy, I whispered to the stranger in the bathroom mirror. I used to be so levelheaded. I used to think logically. I used to feel like I was on top of things. And yet, as each year passed in […]
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It is often said, “If you think being married to a narcissist was bad, wait until you divorce one.” Who said that? Me. Yours truly. Because unfortunately, I know. What is also unfortunate is I learned this the hard way. If divorcing a narcissist were a class, I failed it with a big fat F. […]
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Do you fear getting sucked back into another relationship with a narcissistic predator? Is this fear impeding your ability to find true love? Before you even consider jumping back into the dating pool, you must be fully recovered from your previous relationship. Time alone does not heal this kind of abuse. If you don’t take […]
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Abominable, morally depraved abusers are easy to spot and always remembered. People such as Leona Helmsley (The Queen of Mean), Starlet Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest), knighted BBC notable Jimmy Seville, brutal Haitian dictator ‘Papa Doc,’ sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, and Tele-evangelist Jim Bakker, whose empire fell from Grace due to sex scandals, addiction, fraud and theft of ministry funds, are but […]
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