Angela Atkinson's Blog, page 2

Intermittent Reinforcement: #1 Way Narcissists Control and Manipulate You

If you’re in a toxic relationship with a malignant narcissist, you probably feel like you’re on an emotional roller coaster.

Do ever feel like you can’t control your emotions, or are you worried because your feelings have been all over the place for years?

You might be dealing with intermittent reinforcement as a form of manipulation from the narcissist in your life.

What is intermittent reinforcement?

Intermittent reinforcement is a pattern of callous treatment mixed in with random bursts of af...

Narcissistic Abuse Causes You to Overthink Everything.

Recovery from narcissistic abuse is a long and complicated process, and there are so many factors at play. It’s also easy to focus too much on one thing—and ignore another important element of healing. And that often happens because we overthink things.

Feeling anxious and worried is pretty normal if you’re dealing with the most painful parts of narcissistic abuse recovery.

And, to be fair, “normal” thoughts, overthinking, and worry are difficult to distinguish in the beginning stages of recover...

Narcissists Play These 5 Weird Games With You & It Makes Living With Them Hell

Have you ever found yourself Googling stuff someone has done to you and running into something that led you to suspect someone in your life is a narcissist?

Is someone close to you generally cruel, unfair, manipulative, and painfully clear to you or others in ways that don’t make sense?

Identifying Narcissistic Behaviors and Characteristics

While other unifying characteristics aren’t as obvious, the way that narcissists affect your life almost appears to be from some kind of ‘narcissist playbook...

NARCISSISTS ARE COMMITTED TO MISUNDERSTANDING YOU! Try this to be understood.

Ever tried to explain something to a narcissist, and they pretended not to understand? It’s like speaking another language from behind a brick wall; in other words, incredibly frustrating, to put it mildly.

I should know. After all, despite what the narcissists in my life have claimed, I’ve become pretty successful in my communication skills – I literally communicate for a living. Some people say I’m pretty good at it!

And yet, even with a very simple concept, the narcissists in my life have alw...

The Insecure Narcissist: Example

(Watch video on YouTube)
When I was just starting my business, I decided I needed to do local networking. I’d heard it would be good for the business, so I did some digging and started looking at small business groups on meetup.com.

I felt so lucky when I quickly found a local small business meetup that was happening just a short distance from my house.

At the first meeting, we were each invited to briefly introduce ourselves and explain our business. When it was my turn, one woman looked up sh...

Shadow Work for Narcissistic Abuse Survivors

 “Shadow work is, at heart, about developing self-awareness and ultimately, self-acceptance and compassion. Shadow work is often both therapy and more spiritual, helping you see the different parts of yourself.” ~Maggie Wooll

Advanced Self-Help Healing: Shadow Work in Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

If you’ve found yourself dealing with narcissistic abuse in a toxic relationship, chances are you’ve found yourself feeling lost, unseen, unheard, and even completely invisible. You might not be sure who...

Brain Fog from Toxic Relationships: The Science and Ways You Can Help Yourself

You are still reeling from your experiences during narcissistic abuse in a toxic relationship.

And who could blame you?

After all, you’ve lost your sense of who you are and of what reality is all about. It’s not that you’ve lost your intelligence or your personality – it’s just that it feels kind of disjointed or disconnected from the person you are today.

Something you may not remember right now is that MOST people you meet actually really enjoy your company.

They like you as a person, and they...

The #1 Reason You Keep Falling for Narcissists Will Shock You

Have you ever wondered why you can’t resist a narcissist? Or why they make you feel so good? Or why you keep ending up with them? 

Did you ever think about the fact that, when you first realized you were in a toxic relationship with an abusive narcissist, you looked around your life and found one or more other toxic people in your inner circle? 

This video will help you understand how and why your attachment style has led you to be a perfect target for narcissists. 

Why are narcissists and code...

How the Narcissist Hits Rock Bottom (And What You Can Do to Deal)

When it comes to people with narcissistic personality disorder, it seems like the only thing you can predict is unpredictability. What happens next when they hit rock bottom?

What can you expect? What can you do – and how can you deal with and overcome their treatment during this unpleasant narcissistic cycle?

If you’re currently involved with a narcissist or are about to get involved with one – you’ll want to hear this.

This video will give you all of the answers you need when it comes to recog...

Dependent Personality Disorder Defined, Plus Self-Help Tips for Healing

Have you ever been told to “be more independent”, or maybe you are the one saying it to your kids, spouse, co-workers, etc.? Have you ever heard of dependent personality disorder?

Feeling powerless, unable to care for yourself, and the need to be taken care of is not a good way to live. This is how you’ll feel if you suffer from dependent personality disorder.

You may think that this type of behavior is normal. It’s not. Let’s talk about it.

What Is Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)?

Depende...