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I'm not at all shy to admit I was a regular pot smoker for over 7 years of my life. I smoked almost everyday because I enjoyed it. It was something that eased my mind and gave me a sense of relaxation.
Over time however, I began to see that everything I thought I enjoyed about it was only an ... Views: 37307
How would you answer this question: I am out of my abuse and have moved on with my life. There is something that I have been wondering about. How and when does the abuse stop playing a significant part of my life? I have seen others who have moved on and I would like to know how they did ... Views: 29413
Mobbing in the workplace has long been studied in Europe. Just look it up on a search engine. Described in "Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace", published by Davenport, Elliott, and Schwartz in 1999, mobbing is about collective assault in the corner office, in cubbies, on the ... Views: 23789
"Work place bullying and mobbing" is a little known phenomenon in the United States but is well known and addressed on many levels in several other countries, primarily The United Kingdom. Although most people in the United States are unfamiliar with the terms "work place bullying and mobbing" ... Views: 20924
Sometimes, the breakup is initiated by the long-suffering spouse or intimate partner of the narcissist or psychopath. As she develops and matures, gaining in self-confidence and a modicum of self-esteem (ironically, at the narcissist’s behest in his capacity as her “guru” and “father figure”), ... Views: 18078
Emotional abuse results in damage to the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory ability. This damage results in associated memory deficits, according to studies from Yale University School of Medicine, Yale Psychiatric Institute and the Department of Biological Sciences at ... Views: 17096
Having worked with many clients recovering from childhood emotional abuse, and having experienced it myself, I want to share my learning with you, in the hope that it will help you be well, feel good, be happy and create the life you desire and deserve.
The most important relationship you have ... Views: 16334
It doesn't always happen. But it happens to a large enough degree that it can be referred to as commonplace. A number of studies indicate that between 30 - 70% of young abusers (physical or sexual) have been sexually abused themselves. Statistics on adult abusers who were sexually abused as ... Views: 14662
As a human being, one has the ability to lift others up and make their life easier, or they can pull others down and make their life harder. There are going to be some people who generally fit into the first category and then there will be others who generally fit into to the second ... Views: 14278
“A Social Problem Does Not Exist For A Society Until It Is Recognized By That Society To Exist” – H. Blumer
The following is the first of a three-part series of articles:
It was in a high school literature class that I was first introduced to the Oedipus Complex, defined as “a boy’s ... Views: 14103
1. Sticks and stones won’t break my bones” – and words won’t leave any measurable physical damage, but they will cause progressive, long-term harm. Never underestimate the power of words: words are used to brainwash.
Being told you are “stupid”, “ugly”, “lazy” or “worthless” is never ... Views: 13838
Feng Shui (fung-shway) is the study of arranging your environment to enhance your life. Every minute of every day your environment is either supporting you or draining you. Feng Shui teaches you to join forces with your environment to make living your best life effortless.
Not only does your ... Views: 13546
Research shows that the parenting style used on a child during the first 3 to 4 years of his life is the strongest factor that determines his level of self-esteem.
Parenting style refers to how parents treat, guide, and nurture their young. It encompasses the messages that parents communicate ... Views: 13251
When someone we care about is in danger, it is only natural to want to do something. Our hand reaches out automatically when a loved one loses their balance and is about to fall. Parents, understanding they are protecting their teen from the consequences of facing the world on their own, tap ... Views: 13232
“There is no other closeness in human life like the closeness between a mother and her child. Chronologically, physically and spiritually, they are just a few heartbeats away from being the same person” *
This is the darkest secret of them all. It challenges societal expectations and myths ... Views: 13084
This information is a purposeful broadcast.
What is Narcissism? Narcissism is an unhealthy focus on self that affects others in unhealthy ways. Everyone to some extent is narcissistic. Most people ‘want the good stuff’ and from a psychological point of view: everything we do is for some ... Views: 13077
Breaking the spirit of people I am sad to say is an accepted method of control in our society. It is done in some cases as part of a regimen of discipline, by others unwittingly as they are not aware of their own destructive powers. People do it to other people and humans do it to animals.
... Views: 12300
Purple Drink
Promethazine and Codeine containing cough syrup abuse has become popular in certain circles, especially in Houston and the South. Mixed with soft drinks and soda, it is drank and taken in high doses creating a euphoric effect that can "slow" people down. This relatively new ... Views: 11637
Tips for Gaining Back Trust and Intimacy with Parents and Family Members
Relationships with family members can be fraught with problems and complications. These are the people you can't easily run away from. Yet you might not always want to be around them either. We want to be close to our ... Views: 10999
Emotional Intelligence (EI), Narcissism and Private versus Secret
As is often the case, what comes up for one of my clients tends to be a recurring theme for just about everyone I coach during certain periods of time and, as luck would have it, I lived with and was engaged to a ... Views: 10941
"In the song ""The Gambler,"" Kenny Rodgers sang, ""You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run."" If that seems to sum up your job situation, then you may be wondering if you should quit or allow yourself to get fired. Here are some ... Views: 10814
Critical thinking (sometimes referred to as directed thinking) is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed--it is thought and knowledge and the relationship between them. To break it down more: the critical component is the evaluation that is most often agreed upon, and thinking is obtaining the ... Views: 9795
Some women endure their husbands’ narcissism, addictions, and abuse silently because they believe they have no right to complain. They realize they are living lives that so many other women only dream about. Really, do they dare express any dissatisfaction and thus come across as ... Views: 9684
"Such a one (the narcissist – SV) is encased, is he not, in an armour – such an armour! The armour of the crusaders was nothing to it – an armour of arrogance, of pride, of complete self-esteem. This armour, it is in some ways a protection, the arrows, the everyday arrows of life glance off it. ... Views: 8459
Whenever one hundred Americans are gathered together, twenty to twenty-five of them will have been affected by alcoholism. On any given day, one out of four hospital patients in the United States are hospitalized due directly to alcoholism or complications related to it. As a result of the ... Views: 8425
According to Patrick Carnes, there are 11 sexual addiction behavior types. This information is important when when working with sexually addictive or codependents or co-addicts of sex addicts. As you will see, sex addiction comes in many forms and types. Anything from the lone web surfer who ... Views: 8386
As I prepared my educational sessions each week I noticed a trend I could not deny. No matter what subject I selected, whether it was honesty, denial, defenses or boundaries the core issue always returned to a lack of self-worth. If the clients felt a sense of self-worth, there would be no ... Views: 8358
While some women want to be mothers and go onto fulfil this need, there are others who have no interest in being a mother. They might end up channelling their nurturing abilities into another area of life instead.
However, just because a woman decides to be a mother, it doesn’t mean that she ... Views: 8242
In a previous article I talked about survivors who are unable to move on with their lives and/or having the attitude that everything that is wrong in their life is the result of another person. In that article it was discussed about how important forgiving yourself is so you can move on.
So ... Views: 8080
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
- Kahlil Gibran
The intention of this article is to encourage the healing of the traumatized child. Carl Jung said: “ In every adult there lurks a child – an eternal child, something that is always becoming, is never ... Views: 7934
Alcoholism, drug abuse and eating disorders are often misunderstood.
These diseases include a soul-sickness. The people in the grips of these afflictions are spiritually ill, too. The illness can even spread to family members and friends.
The recovery process has produced countless untold ... Views: 7783
Lack of "emotional safety" is the number one indicator of a potentially dangerous relationship. It may seem subtle, yet it is ever so significant with respect to your well-being.
When you have emotional safety, it's palatable. You can feel it in every fiber of your being. When it's missing, you ... Views: 7690
Boy do we hate change. Before recovery I had few tools or healthy ways of dealing with change. If something ended in my life, it often felt like the end of my life. Once I entered the hallway, it was dark indeed.
As I worked through recovery, I learned many valuable life lessons. The first was ... Views: 7572
Chemical dependency has been beaten like a dead horse. There are causal theories from genetic predisposition to various theories of learning, which has contributed greatly to a social construction of reality--a clearing that needs to be re-visioned. Discussed here will be psychological and depth ... Views: 7384
The DSM V re-defines personality disorders thus:
at
"The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits."
According to the June 2011 text of the DSM V, the following ... Views: 7356
Many people have done the tough work of recovery from sexual abuse, whether with help in therapy or on one’s own. It challenges us to the core, but it also frees us, and gives life and possibility where we once felt that we might never get through it.
For some, getting into a relationship, or ... Views: 7301
According to Dr. Lenore E. Walker, a prominent expert on battered women, a woman must experience at least two complete battering cycles before she can be labeled a “battered woman”. The cycle has three phases. First the tension-building phase, followed by the explosion or acute battering ... Views: 7265
To decide during childhood, whether as an ideal from a dream or fantasy, or from being impressed or influenced by others in the community, to delve into the netherworld of drugs and alcohol--actually choosing to live a life of chaos is one of those mysteries of human behavior. Most addicts do ... Views: 7162
I've been asked this question enough times that I decided to expand on the topic in this article. Therapists will likely have slightly different interpretations of what it is - and how to go about doing the therapy work itself. My definition of "family of origin work" in it's simplest form is, ... Views: 7085
Find a quiet place where you will be relatively free from distractions and unlikely to be bothered by anyone. Sit in a comfortable position. Write down how strong your urge is on a scale from 0 (no urge at all) to 10 (the strongest urge you’ve ever had). Then, write down how much you feel as if ... Views: 6736
When most people hear the word “abuse,” they think of bruises left from an angry person’s violent rage. Very few, though, understand the mental and emotional scars resulting from emotional abuse, and even fewer understand those which are caused by the lesser-known Narcissistic ... Views: 6549
Some of the writing about Borderline Personality Disorder by therapists and health care professionals seems to almost disparage the emotional sensitivity of sufferers who are characterized as experiencing widely varying emotional responses that can swing from anger to delight in a moment. Some ... Views: 6447
-The man who quits his job because of harassment.
-The woman whose husband stays out late at night repeatedly and tells her he is entitled to do what he wants.
-The child whose parent tells him often “you are lazy”.
What do these people have in common? All of them have relationships with ... Views: 6414
How much of my time have I spent worrying about what other people think of me? Too much is the short answer. Before recovery in Al-Anon, I had no boundaries, no sense of self, and how I felt about myself and my life was largely determined by whether or not you approved. With no internal ... Views: 6399
I’ve learned during the past 20 years that almost all of us on planet earth have experienced some kind of trauma or loss, now more commonly recognized as POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). We become trauma victims when we experience natural disasters, murder, suicide, gang fights, robbery, ... Views: 6371
Question:
Am I to blame for my husband's/child's/parent's mental state and behaviour? Is there anything that I can or should do to help him or to reach him?
Answer:
Self-flagellation is a characteristic of those who choose to live with a narcissist (for a choice it is). Constant feelings of ... Views: 6347
By Sam Vaknin
Author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"
The narcissist cursed - or blessed - with mental X-ray vision. He sees through people's emotional shields, their petty lies, their pitiable defences, their grandiose fantasies. He knows when they deviate from the truth and ... Views: 6172
Many people are deciding, for various reasons, that they should give up drinking alcohol. Tea is becoming increasingly popular as a substitute due to the natural health benefits that it provides. Like the fact that all wines come from grapes, all teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant or a ... Views: 6120
I look back on my own life through breakups, low-self esteem and depression and can clearly say that I used alcohol as a crutch. I understand now that I learned this concept of sadness equaling alcohol from movie, tv and our culture in general. I now have accepted that stress, trauma, and ... Views: 6056
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The Emergence of Female Sex Addiction: Understanding Gender Differences
Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC
Clinical Care ... Views: 5981