What more could you ask for in a business partner than confident, smart, successful, and equally motivated to see the business flourish? Maybe it’s a perfect match for your skill set. You focus on your craft while your business partner handles the day-to-day operations. Or maybe you’ve found a charming salesperson with incredible business acumen to promote your services. After all, Brownell et al. (2021) discovered in their meta-analysis that individuals exhibiting sub-clinical narcissism tend to outperform their peers in entrepreneurial pursuits.

Walking through the minefield of narcissistic abuse, domestic violence, and coercive control is akin to entering Harry Potter’s Forbidden Forest. It demands awareness, bravery, resilience, discipline, and strategy. One of the many insidious tactics employed by abusers is the purposeful sowing of chaos among friends and family. In this blog, I want to teach you the skill of recognizing and countering this manipulation, ensuring your social support system remains as intact as possible. We’ll look at practical strategies, rooted in both psychological insights and real-life experiences, to safeguard your mental well-being and break free from the narcissist's abusive grip.

Today, we're delving into the tangled web of manipulation, shedding light on the dark corners where narcissistic abusers collide with alcohol abuse. Now, hold up. This blog is not just about the abuse of alcohol by the perpetrator. It's also about how they will purposely encourage YOUR use of alcohol. Think about it. You are far easier to control while you’re under the influence, and this, of course, is what they want.

Narcissistic abuse, often associated with abusive romantic partners, is a presence that transcends our personal relationships. While many of us are familiar with narcissistic abuse within romantic contexts, what often remains hidden is the existence of narcissistic individuals in other areas of our lives. This blog explores the world of "The Other Narcissists in Your Life," shedding light on the stealthy abusers who may be lurking within your family, friendships, workplaces, and social circles.

Navigating the intricate maze of narcissistic abuse, domestic violence, and coercive control demands awareness, resilience, discipline, and a strategic mindset. One of the most insidious tactics employed by abusers is the deliberate sowing of chaos and discord among your friends and family. In this blog post, we will delve into the skill of recognizing and countering this manipulation, ensuring your social support system remains intact. Let's explore practical strategies, rooted in both psychological insights and real-life experiences, to safeguard your mental well-being and break free from the narcissist's grip.

Dear Family Member/Friend,

My sincerest thank you for being here to support me. I may not show it, but my world is upside down. I am crumbling on the inside. I may not be able to adequately articulate all of my feelings now, but I feel scared, confused, outraged, and overwhelmingly isolated. If the hurt the narcissist inflicted on me appeared on my body as bruises or broken limbs, you would see my body bearing the vivid scars of a harrowing battle, but my injuries are invisible, therefore dismissible to the average person because my abuser has worked diligently to make you believe they are a good person.

In a seemingly normal and loving relationship, it can be difficult to recognize the subtle ways a narcissist exerts coercive control since it is planned and executed underhandedly. It is initially effective because the perpetrator hooks you in with love-bombing, followed by the devaluation stage. This leaves the victim/survivor craving the “good old" love bombing days like a drug.

The narcissist wouldn’t be performing their job competently without the addition of blame shifting and gaslighting. These two indispensable tactics keep you so distracted doubting your own instincts, fact checking, and questioning your version of reality that you become blinded to the genuine intent of the narcissist…keeping you under their control.

The narcissist is usually, charming, witty, attentive, extremely complimentary and overly loving. That is how they likely attracted you. They have an ability to sense just how to stroke your ego in order to set the hook. This is called love-bombing.

So you’ve found a therapist for your partner with narcissistic personality disorder or maybe you’ve scheduled your first visit for couple’s counseling. Under any other circumstance, I would applaud your efforts.

Leaving a relationship is undoubtedly one of the more difficult challenges in life. You are often swimming in a cloud of self-doubt, hurt, and uncertainty. Leaving a relationship with a narcissist is next-level difficult. You are likely dealing with the effects of trauma that can, minimally, screw with your thinking.

As we parents try to process the trauma from narcissistic abuse, we use the tools we have in our toolbox and we eagerly look to adopt more. We seek a support system, we read books on abuse, we talk to mental health experts, and we attempt to practice self-care. However, our kids typically haven’t had the time or experience to build a toolbox of their own. They may not even be able to understand or verbalize their experience. While they may be old enough to be aware that what is happening to them is “bad”, they may not necessarily understand why. Almost certainly they are not aware of narcissists or narcissistic abuse. This may even be true with your adolescent child. Think about it. How could they? The abusive parent is one of only two parents they’ve ever seen in action.