Not all victims are manipulative. Feeling like a victim has taken on negative connotations, but there are people who “play the victim” in order to manipulate you. This is a favorite defense of narcissists and other personality-disordered people. In some other instances, this behavior is learned as a child because as a way to get needs […]
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Episodic ruptures were peppered throughout their tumultuous relationship, but when seemingly benign texting commenced during the pandemic, Megan began to question if she was correct in concluding that her ex was a full-blown malignant narcissist. In fact, their friendly exchanges caused her to ruminate over how the early stages of their courtship were not defined by […]
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Some don’t know that emotional abuse is as damaging as physical abuse. It is an unseen assault on one’s soul. One can experience emotional abuse in a family with a parent, in the workplace with an associate, or in a relationship. Narcissistic abuse is becoming more prevalent in our society, or at least we’re hearing […]
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Anxiety is common at the beginning of a relationship, but relationship anxiety can continue for the long term. It refers to intense worry, fear, doubt, and insecurity about a relationship and is associated with interpersonal dependency and interpersonal avoidance. Insecurity about ourselves, our boundaries, and our self-esteem can cause relationship anxiety. Women are more prone to this than […]
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December 22 marks the beginning of rebirth — following the year’s shortest day. The winter solstice, since ancient times, represented symbolically the death and rebirth of the Sun, marked by a festive holiday on December 25th, Saturnalia, honoring the pagan sun god. This day came to be Christmas marking the birth of Jesus, who represented […]
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The expectation of feeling grateful can be challenging when we’re struggling with loneliness or relationship, work or health problems. It can be even harder to have gratitude around holidays when we see other people happily celebrating. When you’re discouraged or weighed down with negative thoughts, there are several things you can do. Why Gratitude Can […]
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On the heels of ending a long-term relationship with a malignant narcissist, Lauren vehemently and unceasingly blamed herself for ‘allowing’ him to sadistically debase her. Although she intellectually concurred with M. Scott Peck’s premise that genuine love is volitional, that true intimacy is contingent on honoring one another’s humanity and that another’s proclivity to abuse […]
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We can’t talk about narcissistic emotional abuse without talking about grief and trauma. Both of these will come up in your recovery. Each individual has their own unique losses to assess and to grieve if it becomes necessary to leave the relationship. Some of these may include: loss of a dream loss of an intact […]
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