Letting go of a narcissist you love hurts like hell. Love is how you navigate life, how you feel your way through the world. But if you were wired to love people who hurt you—people who demanded you sacrifice yourself, manage their emotions, and abandon your own needs while being treated in ways you didn’t […]
In a world that’s always pushing us to perform, to do, to measure up, it’s so easy to lose ourselves. When you add narcissistic abuse—whether from parents, partners, or family—it’s like a wrecking ball to your freedom. You’re told your feelings don’t matter, your ideas aren’t valid, and your autonomy? Forget about it. That kind […]
Anger, excitement, sadness, and frustration are all normal emotions in childhood. But school-aged children don’t instinctively know how to manage these big feelings. Emotion regulation—the ability to monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional reactions—is a crucial skill they must learn from the adults around them. As art therapists, caregivers, and educators, we play a critical […]
Let him go. Die to the self and hurt like hell once. Endure his narcissism, and it’s death by a thousand cuts, hurting forever. Both paths sting, but which one do you choose? I’ve been there, and I can tell you—the path of no longer tolerating narcissistic abuse is the one that heals your health […]
“What do I do? What do I say? How do I say it? How should I look? How do I pull this off? What’s he gonna think of me? I gotta do this for everyone else. I can’t screw up. I’m so freaking anxious.” Sound familiar? These words are like a soundtrack stuck on repeat […]
It’s gut-wrenching to admit that the person you love is breaking your soul and body, piece by piece. The truth is, when you’re caught in a relationship with a narcissistic partner, their hurtful patterns can erode your confidence, self-worth, and emotional well-being over time. It’s tough to face because, deep down, you might feel you […]
Warning Signs of Narcissistic Abuse in Toxic Marriages and Its Impact on Gut Health Navigating a toxic marriage marked by narcissistic abuse can leave deep emotional and physical scars, often manifesting as chronic health issues like gut disease. The pain of narcissistic abuse—gaslighting, emotional manipulation, and neglect—can trap you in a cycle of denial, dissociation, […]
STRATEGIES TO AVOID FALLING FOR TOXIC DATING PATTERNS “Why do I keep falling for the same type and patterns over and over again? Dating is exhausting.” I hear these comments and experiences often, and I’ve experienced these types of dates myself as well, including as a seasoned therapist who has worked with plenty of people […]
I refer to emotional abuse as ‘hidden’ because it is given far less recognition than other forms of abuse, such as physical or sexual. The victim is often blamed. They are “oversensitive” and basically not able to “take it, like other people do”. What is Emotional Abuse Emotional abuse is an emotional attack on another […]
In my years as a therapist I have heard the above statement many times. What does it actually mean? Many people dealing with, for example, depression symptoms have put themselves inside a little box marked “Depressed Person”. They will go to therapy for depression but can never emerge from the box because. “That’s who I […]
