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Conflict: Four Common Misconceptions
I remember attending a seminar about conflict about a dozen years ago. The speaker made the point that conflict in and of itself isn’t good or bad. It is merely an event that must be dealt with. I don’t know if I fully agree with that. Conflict feels pretty awful much of the time, at least to an empathetic person like me who wants everyone to hold hands and sing Kum bah Yah. Another speaker on the same topic held up a dollar bill in the middle of the room. He made the point that each side of the room saw a totally different side of the same thing. Neither…
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Post Narcissist Stress Disorder: 3 Signs You Suffer
Post Narcissist Stress Disorder is a relatively new addition to the DSM. It is also an ironic one, given that Narcissistic Personality Disorder was removed from the same volume in 2013 to the protests of the majority of psychologists who know anything about the disorder. But academics aside, Post Narcissistic Stress Disorder is a diagnosis here to stay. The narcissists who abound in today’s society will see to it. The emotional trauma one endures with a narcissist is severe. Some survivors must struggle with symptoms similar to soldiers returning from war. The levels of abuse endured in a relationship with a narc can cause traumas as severe, though without the…
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Denial: Four Ways It Destroys You and Your Family
Firstly, let me say that I am a past master of denial. One cannot stay in an abusive marriage for as long as I did and not have expertise in the exercise of denial. But often, we misunderstand what exactly is being denied when we talk about this subject. Often, it isn’t the situation that we are unable to face, but our feelings about the situation. I could admit that my husband was abusive. What I couldn’t admit to was the fear, agony, anger, and helplessness I felt within an abusive marriage. And so I convinced myself I was just making the best of a bad situation. When we consider…