by Wendy Hoke | Oct 13, 2026 | Family Estrangement, Narcissistic Abuse, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, PTSD
What motivates a narcissist? Standard thought: an insatiable need for external validation, a craving for social dominance, and a deep-seated fear of worthlessness and exposure. Beneath a confident exterior, a narc has a fragile ego in hypervigilant mode to protect...
by Ellen Tift | Aug 11, 2026 | Anxiety, Attachment Trauma, Betrayal, Building Resilience in Healing, Emotional Flashbacks, Emotional Wellness, Family Estrangement, Healing from Toxic Shame, Healing Self-Shame, Isolation, Narcissistic Abuse
Have you ever found yourself suddenly humiliated, yet forced to pretend otherwise in front of people? How covert narcissists intentionally do this to their targets while appearing perfectly innocent. I’m Embarrassed That I Exist Carter’s Story Carter had been...
by Ellen Tift | Jun 17, 2026 | ACEs, Attachment Trauma, Building Resilience in Healing, CPTSD and Narcissistic Abuse, Depression, Grieving, Hope, Loneliness, Narcissistic Abuse, Suicide Prevention
Whether the narcissist is one person or a group, the pain of mistreatment can make you want to go to sleep and never wake up. Let’s validate this dilemma, consider why it happens, and how to heal. The Weight You Carry You wake up each morning with a heaviness...
by Ellen Tift | May 6, 2026 | Anger, Betrayal, Emotional Wellness, Going No Contact, Guilt, Narcissistic Abuse, Self-Acceptance
Tobie’s Story Tobie sat in their car, knuckles white against the steering wheel, jaw clenched so tight their teeth might crack. They had just left yet another family gathering where their boundaries were trampled, their feelings dismissed, and their experiences...
by Dr. Mozelle Martin | Apr 2, 2026 | Brain Chemistry, Complex PTSD Healing, CPTSD, Narcissistic Abuse
Families living with chronic instability often divide their children into roles that were never chosen. One child reacts loudly. Another reacts quietly. The loud one becomes the identified problem. The quiet one becomes the praised anomaly. The truth is less...
by Alice Segell | Apr 1, 2026 | CPTSD, Dissociation and CPTSD, Emotional Wellness, Ethics, Family Estrangement, Gaslighting, Going No Contact, Narcissistic Abuse
Christmas, or other types of family reunions, can be tricky in the best of families. For survivors of childhood abuse, trekking home for the holidays is nothing short of a draining and re-traumatising return to the scene of the crime. It’s an exercise in appeasement...
