Growth

Being too nice doesn’t protect you. It paints a target on your back for narcissists. For most of my life, I thought niceness was my shield. If I stayed agreeable, avoided conflict, and always made myself useful, then maybe I would finally earn peace. So, I became the fixer in my family. When my mother’s … Read more

In a narcissistic family, speaking up feels like stepping on a landmine. The moment you assert a boundary or question someone’s behavior, you’re branded as “dramatic,” “too sensitive,” or “disrespectful.” For years, I kept my mouth shut, convinced silence was safer. But I wasn’t safe. I was just silent. And they used that silence to … Read more

Narcissists drain joy and twist reality, leaving survivors unsure of everything they once believed about themselves. For years, I lived under my mother’s relentless criticism, my sister’s subtle manipulation, and my brother’s explosive moods. Even when I finally went no contact, silence didn’t feel like freedom.  I remember one evening standing in my living room, … Read more

I used to believe that setting boundaries would finally bring me peace. I thought if I stood up for myself, even once, maybe my narcissistic family would treat me better. But the truth hit harder than I expected. Boundaries don’t calm narcissists. They provoke them. They see limits not as protection, but rebellion. They respond … Read more

I used to replay narcissist conversations like a broken record, rewriting what I “should’ve said.” I obsessed over what they meant, and tried to decode every sigh, pause, or look. After years of gaslighting and emotional abuse, silence didn’t feel safe. It felt loud. Their words echoed long after the room went quiet, especially my … Read more

I used to twist myself into knots trying to explain, justify, and please people who had no intention of understanding me. Especially my toxic and dysfunctional family. If my mother wasn’t guilt-tripping me for something she wanted me to do, my sister would. She’d accuse me of being “too proud” just because I didn’t lend … Read more

It wasn’t therapy that cracked me open. It was the day I asked myself a question I had been avoiding for years: “What if the version of me they built isn’t the real me at all?” When you grow up in an environment shaped by narcissistic control, your thoughts aren’t yours. Your decisions, your beliefs, … Read more

Narcissists don’t just hurt you. They rewire your reality. I know, it sucks! There was a day my siblings would lie straight to my face, calm, calculated, confident. I stood in the kitchen and realized that they weren’t confused. They were committed. To the lie. To the role. To the story where I’m the unhinged … Read more