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We know it happens; yet when we see it, we’re in shock. And when we experience it, we’re numb. How can a family member, who once claimed to cherish you, plot to back you into a fabricated psychiatric label and sentence of craziness?
That is the question that dumbfounds anyone who walks in these ... Views: 3921
Addiction is a dark and lonely place and the barriers that hinder it are plentiful. It is easy to fall prey to it but you play hell trying to get out. Overcoming an addiction is never going to be anything short of difficult because it grabs ahold of people when they are weak and broken and it ... Views: 3916
She knew she would not be able to stop the car in time. The previous night’s snow was now ice on the road. As though watching a movie she had made up, the woman could feel herself floating outside of the car as it fell down into the gorge 100 feet below. From above, she saw the car move as ... Views: 3902
You are not his/her words, though it doesn’t feel that way when you are being abused. On a very deep level, you believe those words of disregard, disapproval, disrespect…even the ones that are absolutely foul.
Yet, in a more surface way, you claim not to buy that trash. You know those are just ... Views: 3862
Are You A ‘Hopium Addict?’
If the question alone was enough to make you recoil in horror, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the term couldn’t possibly apply to you. You may not have heard the term before, but your reaction may be because you are a closet hopium addict.
What is the ... Views: 3862
As we have learned in this series so far, fairy tales are ironic. They tell a truth so shocking that it can only be revealed in innocent children's stories. 2500 years ago, in Plato’s Republic, Socrates said the truth exposed in these stories was so dangerous that they should not be allowed to ... Views: 3860
When you want to stop binge eating, you need to make a decision and change your old habits. Perhaps these habits have been around for years, but no matter how long they have been your fallback, you need to make changes and create new, positive habits for yourself. You need to end the pattern. ... Views: 3853
Tom Wright
Many brilliant theorists, philosophers, self-help gurus, and psychiatrists, often speak of the "ego" as if "it" were something other than what it is: an illusion. An illusion is something that is real, but temporary. What we refer to as the ego has no permanent existence, any ... Views: 3836
YES, I WAS HURT BY MY FAMILY,
but they were hurting too, poor things!
This is a phrase I’ve heard over the years, & it always makes me mad.
You may at first think this post is harsh or unfair, BUT please remember that everything our parents were - WE internalized into our Negative ... Views: 3834
Have You and Your Siblings Been the Target of Narcissistic Parental Triangulation?
To find out if your narcissistic parent has used triangulation to divide you and your siblings, please answer yes or no to the following twenty questions:
Is there one sibling in your family who is your ... Views: 3833
I don't know the percentage of people who come into my office living in abuse or needing to work through past abuse. The ratio is astoundingly high. When I worked in substance abuse residential care, the percentage was probably 99%.
Physical abuse and verbal abuse are easier to recognize ... Views: 3808
Freedom is the key to joy and peace. Living alcohol and drug-free gives you the opportunity to experience true freedom, not the false high you get when drunk or high.
There are many programs available to people who want to get sober but there are few programs available for those who want to ... Views: 3733
Michael Jackson must have been under tremendous emotional stress in recent years. He went through a difficult trial. He had a strained relationship with his father. Additionally, being in the spotlight 24/7 can put tension on your emotional state.
News reports imply that Michael may have had ... Views: 3665
"There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts
you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you.
The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace?"
-Peace Pilgrim
We come into this world freely expressing ourselves, and then slowly but ... Views: 3636
Millions of people enjoyed Michael Jackson’s genius as a showman, however, his legacy is even greater if we learn from his life story.
During a TV interview, “Living with Michael Jackson,” Michael stated he was beaten by his father. He was so terrified he became physically ill when he saw ... Views: 3615
A lot of conflicting emotions surface when you think you notice alcoholic behavior in someone you love. In fact, it is emotional when you realize that you may have a problem with alcohol yourself. It takes a big person to look in the mirror and honestly assess whether alcohol is becoming a ... Views: 3610
Pepper Spray: When buying pepper spray the things that need to be looked at are the scoville heat units, percentage of pepper and oleoresin from capsicum plants. Remember mace is a name brand not a pepper spray. The product is as equal as any other name brand other than the components in it. ... Views: 3609
Incest and Child Sexual Abuse: Definitions, Perpetrators, Victims, and Effects
Definition of Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse is any form of sexual activity with a child by an adult, or by another child where there is no consent or consent is not possible; or by another child who has ... Views: 3583
Gang / group rape is when an individual is raped by two or more persons. It has a high occurrence among teenagers and is usual motivated by adolescent boys with a strong sex drive.
As with most rapes, they are not reported due to trauma and shame. However gang rapes are normally more physically ... Views: 3538
How are you going to stop cyber bullying? I read many articles, newspapers, and talk shows where so-called experts are telling us all there is now a war against cyber bullying and how we can win that war?
Oh please!
Bullying has been happening since the beginning of time and in all ... Views: 3533
How long did it take you to build, and what did it take to build it?
Picture it as a structure, a building of sorts. What purpose does that structure serve? Can you consult others to help you build that structure exactly the way you want it? What materials will you use to build it? Wouldn't ... Views: 3498
Let's say you have a bad habit. You continually do the bad habit. Your bad habit is cemented in. What do you say to yourself about the bad habit? *That's just the way I am.* *I'll never change.* *This is the way my life will be from now on.* *I can't change. This is how my friends see me. If I ... Views: 3493
Then you might need to try the metaphysical way.
When something happens, when somebody, maybe a colleague, treats us badly, perhaps they criticize us, bully us, put us down, humiliate us or try to manipulate us, the first reaction is to feel hurt or get angry: why did they do that to us? Or ... Views: 3433
If you or a loved one have just come out of a stint in rehab, the main focus is to now stay and remain sober from drugs or alcohol. However, this is sometimes easier said than done.
There are so many misconceptions about relapse, that’s why in this article; we aim to set the record ... Views: 3427
We are Known for doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. Some call this addictive insanity, returning to past self-defeating behavior and thinking is a perfect example of addicitive insanity. This mind set can derail our recovery from self-defeating beliefs and ... Views: 3416
Sexual abuse of children is not a new problem, nor have the statistics changed. “1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before the age of 14; 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 16.” (Hopper, J. (1998). Child Sexual Abuse: Statistics, Research, & Resources. Boston, MA Boston University ... Views: 3382
I looked at my father for the last time before he was finally laid to rest. And I said to myself, "I forgive you father".
I have forgiven him but I have not forgotten the turmoil, terror and abuse that I went through.
My father was working away most of the time when I was growing up. But when ... Views: 3381
The Narcissist in Custody Battles
Presentation made by Sam Vaknin
Author of “Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited”
In the 11th Annual and First International
Battered Mothers Custody Conference
http://batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/
HOW NARCISSIST SEES HIS CHILDREN
1. ... Views: 3372
Is One Parent a Narcissist and the Other an Enabler?
To find out if you have a narcissistic parent and a parent who enables him or her, please answer yes or no to the following twenty questions:
Did you grow up in a two parent home with one parent significantly more domineering than ... Views: 3345
Dear Friend,
I would like to share with you something I learned from personal experience – I was emotionally and mentally abused for about 15 years in my childhood – in the hope it will be of help to you in your journey to freedom, healing and happiness. And you will get there, that is for ... Views: 3321
The concoctions of chemicals being used to create the deadly mixtures being used to create illegal drugs will astonish most people. Not only are the chemicals dangerous but the amount of each chemical that is added to illegal drugs drastically varies depending on who is mixing the combination. ... Views: 3318
SERVANT or MASTER of YOUR CASTLE
Who’s the boss of you?
ACoA SYMBIOSIS (S.)
An unhealthy attachment to others as a way to:
• compensate for emotional abandonment in childhood
• to cope with deep anxiety of being a separate entity
• escape having to face the struggle of growing up ... Views: 3311
In every story worth telling, there is a colorful beginning.
This one begins with me…
When my stepfather started caressing me, and lightly tickling my arms, legs, and back, it felt nice.
I felt loved.
I was often watching television when he would cuddle with me on the sofa. My ... Views: 3295
The words bitch and hoe (short for whore; you can’t spell it “who” because that’s a different word) are tossed around so much that young ladies are no longer offended. Do you know what a bitch is? Webster’s dictionary says that it is a female dog or other carnivorous animal. I guess women could ... Views: 3286
I spent a lot of time walking around Houston in the middle '80s with many of the symptoms of PTSD, and didn't know it. I was having flashbacks - of occurrences I didn't remember. I felt like the man in the Bourne Identity with amnesia, who was getting glimpses of his past - a past he could not ... Views: 3274
There is nothing like Mother's Day to remind you of just how much you have lost and how painful that loss is if you are estranged from your mother due to abandonment (disclosing your abuse, mental illness, drug abuse, physical or emotional abuse etc) or loss.
When I disclosed my abuse to my ... Views: 3245
Children develop skills in a predictable sequence that must be followed. For instance, babies do not learn to walk before they crawl. They babble before they speak words. They use parallel play earlier than interactive play. In the same way, they learn to cope with stressors, solve problems, and ... Views: 3241
The narcissist constructs a narrative of his life that is partly confabulated and whose purpose is to buttress, demonstrate, and prove the veracity of the fantastically grandiose and often impossible claims made by the False Self. This narrative allocates roles to significant others in the ... Views: 3236
Recovery from sexual addiction is slightly different than recovery from alcohol and other (AOD) addiction. With chemical dependency recovery, the goal is to abstain from all mood altering drugs. The primary goal from sexual addiction is not abstinence from sex, but the development of the ability ... Views: 3236
Child Abuse
To know about a person's open wound on the outside is obvious.
To treat it we apply a bandage and some TLC
To know about a person's open wound on the inside may come from observing a person's demeanour which requires more study or by simply being told about it.
To treat ... Views: 3192
Hearing “Cheese” does not mean to flash your pearly whites for the camera anymore. Cheese is the nickname for the emerging deadly drug craze sweeping the country. It is also known as Cheese-Heroin and it is the new face of heroin. It is a combination of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM ... Views: 3191
For years and years cocaine was one of the most dreaded drugs. It was labeled as highly addictive and then along came crack cocaine and that was placed in a league of its own, one that was extremely lethal. Maybe it is the hype surrounding the surge in prescription opiate addiction but it seems ... Views: 3191
I define a betrayal as any experience, even one that should be insignificant, that produces ongoing resentment, anger, fear and helplessness. Has someone you trusted deeply ever betrayed you? Have you betrayed someone you love? We may rage and punish ourselves and the other, or deny the pain, ... Views: 3180
What effect does Battered Woman Syndrome have on children? An authoritative study states that children who witness domestic violence but at not battered themselves show behavioral and emotional problems similar to those experienced by physically abused children and may also suffer from Post ... Views: 3150
Reducing Society's Dilemma to the Ultimate Basic Fundamental truth..
The ultimate truth cannot be " figured out " by the human mind ..it must be observed through the Human consciousness.. when you can see this and experience you can accept this at an extraordinary elevated level of ... Views: 3144
But what about narcissistic or psychopathic children, children suffering from conduct disorder, or oppositional defiant disorder)?
Donovan, 16 years old, is incapable of loving and, therefore, has never loved you, his mother (or, for that matter, anyone else, himself included) in his entire ... Views: 3107
Qigong (Chi Kung) is a Chinese medical therapy thousands of years old. It consists of mental as well as physical maneuvering which simultaneously adjust body posture, breathing, and the mind. Qigong for health is not strenuous and can even be performed by handicapped people. It can be done ... Views: 3095
The bible tells a story about four men who sat at the entrance of the city's gate dying with leprosy, an incurable disease which causes terribly visible swelling and sores on the skin, only then to eat inward to the bones. These lepers sat outside of the city because they were not permitted to ... Views: 3095
By Sam Vaknin
Author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"
Negativistic (Passive-Aggressive) Personality Disorder is not yet recognized by the DSM Committee. It makes its appearances in Appendix B of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, titled "Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for ... Views: 3077
Millions of adults in the United States were victims of some degree of sexual abuse when they were children. In most cases this abuse leaves its affects to a greater or lesser degree. The affect it has on people when they become adults is dependent on many factors. The first factor is the ... Views: 3076