A Life, Folded

Boundaries are one of the most difficult concepts for serial people-pleasers as well as victims of betrayal trauma and narcissistic gaslighting. It seems counter-intuitive that taking care of yourself first is a common practice of the most giving and healthy individuals. Boundaries are actually loving, assuring that your needs are met so that you can show up in the world present and with a true desire to serve. 
#alifefolded #selfcare #selfimprovement #betrayaltrauma #betrayal #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery #boundaries #boundariesmatter #boundariesarebeautiful
 

How do you know if your partner is truly changing after you have lived through betrayal, narcissistic emotional abuse, and/or a partner's sex and pornography addiction? Is what they say real, or is it just more smoke and mirrors, empty promises, and outright lies? This episode offers key strategies to move forward and find confidence in your personal safety. Your healing and your path to wholeness are worth the careful effort and dedicated time you put forward. 
#alifefolded #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery #betrayaltraumahealing #cheatinghurts #selflove #narcissist #narcissisticabuseawareness #narcissisticabusesurvivor #narcissisticabuserecovery

Shattered. Destroyed. Broken. These were words I used to think most accurately described me. I felt that I was beyond repair and healing. Betrayal trauma had claimed me, body and soul, and I would never be the same again. But there is hope to reclaim our true selves and build a strong foundation of self-love and trust such that we can be assured that we will be okay no matter what our partner chooses or what other difficult situation we must navigate in life.
#alifefolded #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery #betrayaltraumahealing #cheatinghurts #selflove

Narcissists and other unhealthy partners can take the most helpful and benign concepts and weaponize them to manipulate, control, and devalue. This episode explores how my ex-husband used the book The Five Love Languages to push his self-serving agenda. In the guise of his self-appointed "gifts of service", he completely dismissed my actual, communicated needs. This left me feeling worthless and unlovable. 
#alifefolded #weaponized #narcissist #narcissisticabuseawareness #narcissisticabusesurvivor #narcissisticabuserecovery #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery

Entering therapy with a narcissist is done most often with sincere effort by the partner, but can, and usually will be, used against them. The concerns around therapy with a narcissist range from the annoying to the frustrating to the dangerous. Narcissists don't believe they need to change and weaponize therapy to manipulate, demean, and control. Listen to learn more and to protect yourself against further pain and confusion at the hands of a Cluster B-personality disordered individual.
#alifefolded #weaponized #narcissist #narcissisticabuseawareness #narcissisticabusesurvivor #narcissisticabuserecovery
 

One of the most unconscionable types of abuse that can be endured is spiritual abuse. For many of us, our spiritual lives and connection to a higher power are the foundations of our existence. This essential relationship helps us make sense of our lives and can even enable and enhance our understand and comfort levels after loss. Spirituality can lead us to feel secure, safe, and with a desire to rise up and be the very best people we can. When someone who knows your weaknesses and professes to love you robs you of the sanctity of your relationship to ahigher power or your connection with something greater than yourself through manipulation, it is reprehensible. But healing and hope do exist, particularly through awareness. Find out how. 
#alifefolded #spiritualabuse #spiritualabuseawareness #spiritualabuserecovery

After being betrayed or living in an unhealthy relationship, many people lament, "Yes, but if I leave my partner, who else will ever love me?" While understandable, this type of thinking can be dangerous in perpetuating further toxic relationships. This episode discusses why it is essential to your happiness to leave this type of mentality in the past and where the source of true love lies. 
#alifefolded #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery

Cuts. Jabs. Barbs. Narcissists excel at them all. Malignant narcissists can be quite overt in their cruel comments. However, most narcissists are more elegant, sinister, and insidious in their hurtful jabs. They might be hard to recognize as long as you are in the relationship. Because they have intently studied you, they know right where your pain points are. They have a knack of subtly slashing at your core, leaving you feeling like there is something inherently wrong with you. My husband used something as banal as my favorite color to get in narcissistic shots. My entire marriage, I felt like something was wrong with me, because the insidious nature of his digs. 
And, if you tell them that what they said hurt your feelings, they will most likely tell you that you are being too sensitive. Or, they will turn it into a full-on DARVO situation, making you out to be the bad guy and them the helpless victims.  
#alifefolded #narcissist #narcissisticabuseawareness #narcissisticabusesurvivor #narcissisticabuserecovery #selflove