Article Index

Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD
August 2019
- Narcissist Dictionary: Safe Sex [Meme] (August 19, 2019)
- Blame and Rage: What Narcissists and Borderlines Call Problem-Solving [Video] (August 19, 2019)
- Adult Toddlers, Part 1: Traits of Emotionally Immature Narcissists and Borderlines (August 18, 2019)
- What Causes Unhealthy Relationship Choices and Patterns, Part 1 (August 17, 2019)
- Dating Again: Run, Forrest, Run Red Flags! [Meme] (August 14, 2019)
- Social Media and Narcissism: The Perfect Marriage of Technology and Pathology [Meme] (August 13, 2019)
- Narcissist Fight Club Rule #5: The More You Explain Yourself the More Vulnerable [Video] (August 12, 2019)
- Narcissist Fight Club Rule #6: Multiple Arguments to Derail and Distract (August 12, 2019)
- Healthy Boundaries, Part 2: The Joy of No! [Video] (August 9, 2019)
- Boundaries Protect You from Narcissists and Borderlines, Part 2: The Joy of No! (August 9, 2019)
- Narcissist Dictionary: You Need Therapy! (August 7, 2019)
- Dating Again, Part 4: What You Lose by Having Healthier Relationships [Video] (August 6, 2019)
- Dating Again, Part 4: What You Lose by Becoming Healthy (the End of the Codependent-Narcissist Fairy Tale) (August 5, 2019)
- Boundaries Repel Narcissists and Borderlines, Part 1: The Golden Rule (August 2, 2019)
- Boundaries Protect You from Narcissists and Borderlines, Part 1: The Golden Rule (August 1, 2019)
July 2019
- Dating Again, Part 3: Why Codependents Feel a Lack of Chemistry with Healthier People [Video] (July 30, 2019)
- Dating Again, Part 3: Why Codependents Feel a Lack of Chemistry with Healthier People (July 29, 2019)
- That’s Not Anywhere Near Normal: Woman Destroys Boyfriend’s Guitar – Claims She’s the Victim (July 28, 2019)
- Crazy Jerk the Musical! The Professional Victim’s Repetitive Narrative and Why They Won’t Be Different with the Next Guy [Video] (July 26, 2019)
- You’re Perfect, Now Change! (Good Luck with That!) (July 25, 2019)
- That’s Not Normal: I Always Get What I Want (July 24, 2019)
- That’s Not Normal: Resents your Successes (July 23, 2019)
- Dating Again, Part 2: What Do You Get Out of Relationships with Narcissists and Borderlines? [Video] (July 22, 2019)
- Dating Again, Part 2: Benefits of Not Healing and Staying Codependent (July 22, 2019)
- Narcissist Dictionary: Wheel of Blame (July 18, 2019)
- That’s Not Normal: Denying Reality Makes You a Perfect Target (July 17, 2019)
- Personality Disorders: Forewarned is Forearmed [New Book Chapter Video] (July 16, 2019)
- Trauma Bond vs. Healthy Bond: Emotional Intensity vs. Emotional Intimacy [Meme] (July 15, 2019)
- Self-Care Basics: Love Yourself Enough to Leave [Meme] (July 11, 2019)
- That’s Not Normal: “I Did Everything for Her!” [Meme] (July 10, 2019)
- Self-Care Basics: Start Small [Meme] (July 9, 2019)
- Why Do Narcissists Cheat? [Video] (July 8, 2019)
- Emotional Reasoning vs. Critical Thinking [Video] (July 5, 2019)
- Mating Call of the Codependent: Calling All Damsels and Dudes in Distress! [Meme] (July 4, 2019)
- Do You Want a Peaceful Life! [Meme] (July 3, 2019)
- That’s a Lie! Manipulated into Marriage [Meme] (July 2, 2019)
- Are You Confusing Being a Kind Person with Being a “Nice” Person? (July, 2, 2019)
- Red Flag: Number of Instagram Selfies vs. IQ Points [Meme] (July 1, 2019)
June 2019
- Dating 101: Avoiding Gold Diggers [Meme] (June 27, 2019)
- The Final Child Support Payment: Brace yourself, Francis! (June, 15, 2019)
April 2019
- Power Imbalances in Relationships: Attraction to the Emotionally Unavailable (April 24, 2019)
- Dating Again: What Does Healthy Look Like? Part One (April 19, 2019)
- Myth: Narcissists and Borderlines Are Exciting and Healthy People Are Boring (April 9, 2019)
February 2019
December 2018
- Beware the Narcissist’s or Borderline’s Holiday Hoover – It Sucks! (December 27, 2018)
- Why Do Some Narcissists and Borderlines Ruin Christmas? (December 17, 2018)
November 2018
- Why Don’t Men Leave Abusive Women? (November 26, 2019)
- The First Holiday without the Narcissist or Borderline (November 22, 2019)
- Do Narcissists Ever Hit Rock Bottom? (November 12, 2018)
- Abuse of Wellness Checks by Narcissists and Borderlines in High-Conflict Custody Cases (November 1, 2018)
August 2018
June 2018
- Narcissist Dictionary: “Why Are You Being So Mean?” (June 25, 2018)
- Interview for Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day, Narcissist Fight Club: The Only Way to Win is Not to Play (June 2, 2018)
May 2018
- You Might Be in a Relationship with a Narcissist If . . . You Apologize to Inanimate Objects (May 15, 2018)
- How Narcissists Twist and Use Words Against You (May 14, 2018)
April 2018
- Circular Arguments, Emotional Reasoning and JADE (Justify, Argue, Defend, Explain) (April 27, 2018)
- Relationships with Narcissists: When the Empathy Well Runs Dry (April 4, 2018)
March 2018
- Why Do Narcissists Enjoy Conflict and Drama? (March, 29, 2018)
- Narcissist Dictionary: Friend (March 22, 2018)
- 7 Ways a Relationship with a Narcissist Ends (March 19, 2018)
- Narcissist Fight Club Fight Rule #5: The More You Defend Yourself, the More Vulnerable You Are (March 7, 2018)
- Translating Crazy: Narcissist and Borderline Buzz Words and Phrases (March 6, 2018)
February 2018
- Why Do Narcissists Cheat? (February 24, 2018)
- Identifying Red Flags vs. Determining What You Want in a Relationship Partner (February 21, 2018)
- Lies Codependents Believe to Stay in Relationships with Abusive Wives and Husbands (February 15, 2018)
- Narcissist Fight Club Rule #4: Facts Are Meaningless (February 7, 2018)
- 10 Ways Narcissists and Borderline Abuse Text Messages and Abuse Emojis (February 5, 2018)
January 2018
- Narcissist Fight Club Rule #3: The Fight Isn’t Over Until You Admit You’re Wrong (January 30, 3018)
- Narcissist Fight Club Rules #1 and #2: Don’t Tell the Narcissist They’re a Narcissist (January 26, 2018)
- Red Flag: Narcissists Play the Victim When Their Lies Are Exposed (January 18, 2018)
- Why Are Narcissists and Borderlines More Exciting Than Healthy Women and Men? (January 16, 2018)
- The Difference Between Love Bombing and Genuine Admiration (January 12, 2018)
November 2017
- Characteristics of Professional Victims (November 21, 2017)
- Emotional Labor as Applied to Intimate Relationships: Sliding Off the Slippery Slope (November 18, 2017)
- Narcissists, Phones and your Right to Privacy (November 17, 2017)
- Gemma Hartley: Don’t Call Her a Whiny Nag — She Has Emotional Labor Trauma! (November, 16, 2017)
- Narcissists and Control: Monitoring your Whereabouts, Including Time Spent on the Toilet (November 16, 2017)
- Basic Facts and Statistics about Restraining Order Abuse in Divorce and Custody Disputes (November 13, 2017)
October 2017
- Walking on Eggshells: Why Trigger Warnings Are So Damn Irritating (October 10, 2017)
- Codependent Math: 2 + 2 = You Lose! (October 3, 2017)
- Dismissing the Pain Men Feel When Faced with Losing their Children in Divorce (October 1, 2017)
September 2017
- Living with a Narcissist, the Lost Weekend, Learning the Hard Way and Getting your Life Back (September 30, 2017)
- Do Narcissists Get Better with Age? (September 23, 2017)
- Is it Okay to Call your Ex Crazy? (September 19, 2017)
August 2017
- Don’t Let the Narcissist Determine your Worth (August 8, 2017)
- How Do You Know When a Narcissist is Lying? (August 3, 2017)
- Narcissist Math: The Numbers Just Don’t Add Up (August 1, 2017)
July 2017
- The Narcissist-Codependent Trap: Having Boundaries Ends the Relationship (July 28, 2017)
- What Do You Do? Getting an Apology from a Narcissistic Ex After You’ve Gone No Contact (July 27, 2017)
- Tipping Points and Breaking Points: The Moment You Know You Must End an Abusive Relationship (July 12, 2017)
April 2017
- Love Bombing is a Red Flag (April 11, 2017)
- Why No Contact is So Hard After an Abusive Relationship with a Narcissist, Borderline or Psychopath (April 10, 2017)
- How to Love a Woman Who Has Been to Hell and Back: Run Away! Far, Far Away! (April 9, 2017)
January 2017
- Healing from Narcissistic Abuse: Stages of Grief Rumination (January 25, 2017)
December 2016
- Last Minute Christmas Gifts for Narcissists and for You! (December 23, 2016)
- Enjoying the Holidays After Being with a Narcissist (December 13, 2016)
November 2016
- Surviving the Holidays with a Narcissist (November 30, 2016)
- Custody Battles, Bowel Movements and Other Markers of Narcissistic, Borderline and Psychopathic Parents (November 18, 2016)
- Emotional Toddlers: Narcissists, Borderlines and Psychopaths, Part 2 (November 7, 2016)
October 2016
- How to Win an Argument with a Narcissist, Part 2 (October 12, 2016)
September 2016
- How to Win an Argument with a Narcissist, Part 1 (September 13, 2016)
- Emotional Toddlers: Narcissists, Borderlines and Psychopaths, Part 1 (September 7, 2016)
August 2016
- Basic Relationship Boundaries, Part 2 (August 23, 2016)
July 2016
- Codependency 101: What Does Being Codependent Mean? (July 29, 2016)
- Basic Relationship Boundaries, Part 1 (July 20, 2016)
- Crazyproofing: How to Protect Yourself from Narcissists, Borderlines and Psychopaths (July 13, 2016)
- Is CrazyBusters the Right Place for Me? (July 10, 2016)
- CrazyBusters: Eliminate the Crazy in your Life (July 10, 2016)
- Narcissists, Borderlines, Psychopaths and Codependents: Mutual Mommy and Daddy Issues (July 7, 2016)
June 2016
April 2016
- Taking Back your Life from a Narcissist or a Borderline (April 19, 2016)
March 2016
- Do Narcissists and Borderlines Deserve Love? (March 1, 2016)
February 2016
- What a Narcissist or Borderline Means by Unconditional Love (February 15, 2016)
- A Narcissist is Going to Narcissist and Concern Trolling (February 8, 2016)
December 2015
- Relationship Stages with a Narcissist or Borderline and Triangulation (December 22, 2015)
November 2015
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Now Available in Paperback on Amazon (November 27, 2015)
September 2015
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Talking to Crazy (September 9, 2015)
- Is your Wife or Girlfriend a Crazy Bitch? (September 8, 2015)
August 2015
- 13 Lies Men Tell Themselves to Stay in Bad Relationships (August 29, 2015)
June 2015
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Divorce Bitterness (June 24, 2015)
- What a Narcissist Really Means When She or He Wants to Stay Friends or Hoovers You After Breaking Up (June 24, 2015)
May 2015
- Do You Believe your Abuser’s Happiness is More Important Than your Own? (May 29, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Why Mommy Bloggers Suck (May 28, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Divorcing your Ex-Wife (May 19, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Divorcing your Mother (May 7, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Facebook Golden Uterus Mom Memes (May 4, 2015)
April 2015
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Is your Ex-Wife a Golden Uterus? (April 30, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video: Responding to Crazy (April 1, 2015)
March 2015
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Episode Video: Talking to Crazy (March 31, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy Video, Part II (March 24, 2015)
- Going Mental Video: Say Goodbye to Crazy (March 11, 2015)
February 2015
- Going Mental Video: What Makes Narcissists and Borderlines Tick (February 26, 2015)
- Going Mental Video: Using the 5 Fears of Narcissists and Borderline to Get Rid of Them (February 19, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy on Valentine’s Day: Introduction and About This Book (February 15, 2015)
- Say Goodbye to Crazy to Be Released for Pre-Sale on Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2015)
- Going Mental Video: Strippers, Prostitutes, Sugarbabies, Porn Actors, Other Gold Diggers and Why You Shouldn’t Date Them (February 9, 2015)
- Going Mental Video: How Do You Know When a Sociopath, Narcissist or Borderline is Lying? (February 2, 2015)
October 2014
- In His Own Words: Conned by a Female Sociopath (October 28, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Nice Guy Meets Abusive Borderline Personality Disordered Woman, Part II (October 23, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Nice Guy Meets Abusive Borderline Personality Disordered Woman, Part I (October 22, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Father Screwed Over in Bahrain Family Court by Abusive Wife (October 16, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Abused Men Who Suffer in Silence (October 15, 2014)
- In Her Own Words: I Lost My Brother to His Abusive Wife, Part II (October 14, 2014)
- In Her Own Words: I Lost my Brother to His Abusive Wife, Part I (October 13, 2014)
- In His Own Words: From One Abusive Woman to the Next (October 12, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Former Male Feminist Abused by His Borderline Personality Disordered Wife (October 11, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Escaping an Abusive Marriage (October 10, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Violent Wife and Family Court Highway Robbery (October 9, 2014)
- In His Own Words: I Tried to Kill Myself After Dating a Borderline Personality Disordered Woman (October 8, 2014)
- In Her Own Words: My Husband’s Ex-Wife Abused Him with the Help of Family Court and His Parents (October 7, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Diary of a Man Married to an Alcoholic Borderline (October 6, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Scenes from an Abusive Marriage (October 5, 2014)
- In Her Own Words: My Mother Abused my Father and Me (October 4, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Deception and Heartbreak (October 3, 2014)
- In His Own Words: Men Can’t Be Abused Can They? (October 2, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Daddy Guilt (October 1, 2014)
- In His Own Words: How I Wound Up in the Domestic Violence Industry Meat Grinder (October 1, 2014)
September 2014
- Going Mental Video: What Part of Borderlines Can Be Dangerous Do You Not Understand? (September 25, 2014)
- In His or Her Own Words: Request for Men’s and Women’s Experiences with Female Perpetrated Domestic Violence (September 19, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Domestic Violence Against Men (September 17, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Rebuilding Men’s Self-Respect After It’s Been Destroyed by a Wife, Girlfriend, Mother and Society (September 10, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: More Dating Red Flags for Men (September 3, 2014)
August 2014
- Going Mental Video: Addicted to a Borderline (August 27, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: How Borderlines and Narcissists Abuse Facebook and Other Social Media (August 13, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Does your Teenager Treat you Like your Crazy Ex? (August 6, 2014)
July 2014
- Going Mental Video: Borderline Personality Disorder Enablers and Apologists (July 30, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Are You Really that Desperate for a Woman? (July 23, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Guerrilla Divorce Strategies and Administrative Violence for Men Divorcing Crazy (July 16, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: What is a Healthy Relationship (July 9, 2014)
April 2014
- Going Mental Video: Say Goodbye to Crazy (April 16, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Navigating the Minefield of Mental Health Services for Men (April 9, 2014)
- Going Mental Video: Recognizing Dating Red Flags (April 2, 2014)
October 2013
- In His Own Words: Fake Pregnancy, Fake Miscarriage, Pwned! (October 31, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Self-Reflections at the End of an Abusive Marriage (October 30, 2013)
- In His Own Words: FUBAR (October 29, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Just Another BPD Mom (October 28, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Namaste Bitches (October 27, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Pretty Little Liar (October 26, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Married to a Borderline (October 25, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Victimized by Victim Support Advocates (October 24, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Violent Alcoholic Wife Attacks (VAWA), Part II (October 23, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Restraining Order Abuse (October 22, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Quiet Lives of Desperation (October 21, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Another Beautiful Sociopath (October 20, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Narcissistic Woman (October 19, 2013)
- In His Own Words: ABR Save My Kids and Saved Me (October 18, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Surviving Crazy (October 17, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Animal Hoarders Edition (October 16, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Mother or Monster? (October 15, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Heeding Childhood Lessons (October 14, 2013)
- In His Own Words: The Making of a Knight in Shining Armor (October 13, 2013)
- In His Own Words: A Real Time Cry for Help (October 12, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Summer from Hell (October 11, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Sex, Lies and Videotape (October 10, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Dodging a Bullet (October 9, 2013)
- In His Own Words: The Monster Behind the Beautiful Mask (October 8, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Princess Turns into a Poisonous Toad (October 7, 2013)
- In His Own Words: A BPD Mom and a Recently Divorced Custody Evaluator Walk into a Courtroom… (October 6, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Dangerous Crazy Bitch Ahead (October 5, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Another VAWA Success Story (October 4, 2013)
- In His Own Words: One Brownie, Hold the Nuts (October 3, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Violent Alcoholic Wife Attacks (October 2, 2013)
- In His Own Words: Living a Nightmare (October 1, 2013)
September 2013
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month: The Invisible Victims (September 30, 2013)
August 2013
- BlogTalkRadio: The “I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!” Tantrum (August 1, 2013)
July 2013
- Lake Tantrum: James Mongiat is Wrong (July 31, 2013)
June 2013
- BlogTalkRadio: Emotionally Incestuous Mother-Child Relationships (June 20, 2013)
May 2013
- WTF Fatigue: Jodi Arias (May 31, 2013)
- Abused Men: How Covert Abuse Begins, Part One (May 29, 2013)
- Ending a Relationship with an Abusive Parent, Child or Sibling, Part One (May 6, 2013)
April 2013
- Obsessing Over an Abusive Ex: Thoughts on Being Stuck (April 30, 2013)
February 2013
- My Funny Valentine: Getting Over a Crazy Ex with the CB Patch (February 14, 2013)
- The Next Guy: Did your Ex-Girlfriend or Ex-Wife Downgrade? (February 6, 2013)
January 2013
- Internet Dating Red Flags: Avoiding Another Crazy Woman in the World Wide Spider Web (January 24, 2013)
December 2012
- Comments from the Edge: What your NPD/BPD Says vs. What She Means (December 10, 2012)
October 2012
September 2012
- Crazy Landlord False Rape Allegation Video: From Perpetrator to Victim in 3 Seconds (September 5, 2012)
August 2012
- “You Never Phone” a Song about a Troubled Father-Daughter Relationship (August 20, 2012)
- Abuse Tears Families Apart: A Sister Mourns the Loss of Her Brother (August 10, 2012)
- Another Modest Proposal for High-Conflict Custody Cases: Kill the Non-Custodial Parent (August 9, 2012)
July 2012
- More Thoughts on FOG, Hoovers and No Contact When Ending a Relationship with a Narcissist, Borderline, Histrionic and/or Sociopath (July 16, 2012)
June 2012
- BlogTalkRadio: The Golden Uterus and Mary Richardson Kennedy (June 18, 2012)
- The New Face of Borderline Personality Disorder: Mary Richardson Kennedy Abused Her Husband and Children and Committed Suicide as a Final Act of Revenge for Perceived Abandonment (June 11, 2012)
- Winning vs. Taking: What Does Winning Mean to Abusive, High-Conflict and/or Personality Disordered Women? (June 6, 2012)
May 2012
- BlogTalkRadio: Divorcing your Kids, Part Two (May 30, 2012)
- Friday Funny: The Rules Don’t Apply to Me, A$$hole! (May 25, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Divorcing your Kids, Part One (May 21, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Getting Honest about Boys, Part Two (May 14, 2012)
April 2012
- Learning about Predators from Nature: Leopards Do Not Change Their Spots (April 19, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Getting Honest about Boys, Part One (April 16, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Thinking with the Big Head Instead of the Lower Brain (April 8, 2012)
- The Connection Between Cluster B Personality Disorders and Food (April 4, 2012)
- Paternity Fraud: What Would You Do? (April 3, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: The Problem with Pedestals and Men Who Place Women upon Them (April 2, 2012)
March 2012
- Hoovers: Don’t Let the Crazy Suck You Back In (March 28, 2012)
- The Top 10 Reasons Why Men Should Avoid Princesses (March 27, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Why Men Should Not Treat Women Like Princesses (March 27, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Why and How to Fail Boundary Tests (March 18, 2012)
- Gold Digger in Disguise: The Damsel in Distress (March 16, 2012)
- What Do You Think? Man Shares Videos of His Abusive Wife (March 13, 2012)
- Crazy Bitch the Musical! The Abusive Woman’s Script and Why She Won’t Be Different with the Next Guy (March 8, 2012)
February 2012
- More Dating Red Flags: Video Advice for “Bad Girls” on How to Manipulate Men with Mind Games (February 28, 2012)
- Wouldn’t It Be Great if High-Conflict People and Abusive Personality Disordered Individuals Came with Warning Labels? (February 27, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: Daddy Justice Exposes Corrupt Family Court Judge Kelly S. Ballentine (February 17, 2012)
- A View from the Outside: How Healthy Loved Ones See your Abusive Relationship with a High-Conflict and/or Personality Disordered Partner (February 13, 2012)
- Relationship Stages, Abusive Women and the WTF Moment, Part Two (February 9, 2012)
January 2012
- Relationship Stages, Abusive Women and the WTF Moment, Part One (January 30, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Grieving the Loss of an Abusive Partner (January 16, 2012)
- Rethinking Female Sociopathy, Part Two (January 13, 2012)
- BlogTalkRadio: High-Conflict Divorce with Family Law Attorney Natalie Malonis (January 8, 2012)
- Rethinking Female Sociopathy, Part One (January 4, 2012)
December 2011
- A New Year Story: Father and Son (December 31, 2011)
- Android Phone Angry Wife Game App: Women Abusing Men as Sport (December 14, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Fathers’ Rights Activist Daddy Justice (Ben Vonderheide) (December 13, 2011)
- Ask a Cop: Domestic Violence and Mandatory Arrest Laws (December 12, 2011)
- Apples and Other Forms of Female Manipulation (December 7, 2011
- Ask a Cop: What to Do if your Wife Calls the Cops and Falsely Alleges Abuse (December 2, 2011)
November 2011
- Dr. Drew Pinsky Says Kim Kardashian Committed Domestic Violence Against Kris Humphries (November 29, 2011)
- High-Conflict, Borderline Ex-Wives: It’s the Most Drama-Filled Time of the Year! (November 28, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Why Does She Ruin Every Holiday? (November 27, 2011)
- Ask a Cop: What Not to Do If your Abusive, High-Conflict Wife Calls the Police on You, Part Two (November 23, 2011)
- Red Flag Perfume by Chanel and SNL (November 19, 2011)
- Ask a Cop: Domestic Violence Statistics and Police Procedures, Part One (November 18, 2011)
- Male Anger and Other Emotions, Part Two (November 15, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Relationship Stages, Abusive Women and the WTF Moment (November 14, 2011)
- Male Anger and Other Emotions, Part One (November 10, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Female Stalkers and Their Male and Female Victims (November 6, 2011)
October 2011
- BlogTalkRadio: Rethinking Female Sociopathy (October 30, 2011)
- How to Spot a Gold Digger, Part One (October 25, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: White Knights Who Need Rescuing from Dysfunctional Damsels (October 22, 2011)
- An Immodest Proposal: Domestic Violence Groups Claim the Use of Logic by Men is Abuse (October 18, 2011)
- How to Get Out and Stay Out Once You Realize You Are in a Relationship with Crazy (October 17, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Making Friends with your Anger (October 8, 2011)
- Relationships with High-Conflict People: Assessing Threat and Risk (October 6, 2011)
- Should You Marry Her? Relationship Red Flags for Men, Part One (October 5, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: The Siren Song of Crazy, Toxic and Abusive Women with Shari Schreiber (October 2, 2011)
- News Video: Abused Men (October 1, 2011)
September 2011
- Covert Abuse: How to Handle the “Quiet Ones,” Part Two (September 29, 2011)
- Marriage and Divorce: A Rigged Game for Men, But Also Ultimately Bad for Women and Children (September 28, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: What Every Man Should Know Before Getting Married (September 23, 2011)
- Covert Abuse: Watch Out for the Quiet Ones, Part One (September 21, 2011)
- BlogTalkRadio: Are You Trapped in a Sexless Marriage? (September 15, 2011)
- Our So-Called Rape Culture (September 14, 2011)
- You Have 65,000 Missed Calls: Women Who Use Telephones as Weapons to Stalk and Harass (September 13, 2011)
- First BlogTalkRadio Program: Introduction to Shrink4Men (September 12, 2011)
- Confessions of a Former Feminist (September 1, 2011)
August 2011
- Welcome to the Land of Emotional Reasoning: I’d Turn Back if I Were You (August 29, 2011)
- Bipolar Mom Brags about Verbally Abusing Her Teen-Aged Son (August 25, 2011)
- False Allegations in Divorce and Custody Battles: The Personality Types of False Accusers and the Falsely Accused (August 24, 2011)
- Embed of Dr Tara J. Palmatier on AVfM Radio: False Allegations in Divorce and Custody Battles (August 24, 2011)
- Dr Tara J. Palmatier on AVfM Radio Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 9pm EST: False Allegations or “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them” (August 21, 2011)
- How to Navigate Divorce with a High-Conflict Ex When Children Are Involved: Don’t Let your Well-Founded Fears Be Used Against You! (August 17, 2011)
- Man Awarded $852,000 in Civil Court After Ex-Wife Falsely Accuses Him of Sexual Abuse (August 16, 2011)
- The Truth about Shrink4Men (August 14, 2011)
- Judge Diane E. Gibbons Orders ThePsychoExWife.com Shut Down: What Would You Do? (August 11, 2011)
- Fiona Donnison, Mother, Murderess and Narcissistic Monster: Are the Courts Biased in Favor of Criminals or Women? (August 10, 2011)
- Are You “Institutionalized?” More Thoughts on Dating After Divorcing an Abusive, High-Conflict Spouse (August 8, 2011)
- Dating After Divorcing a High-Conflict Woman: Are You Ready to Date Again? (August 2, 2011)
July 2011
- Fortifying your Fortress: Healthy Boundaries Are your Best Defense Against Abusive, High-Conflict Personalities (July 27, 2011)
- Parallel Parenting: You Cannot Co-Parent with a High-Conflict, Abusive and Crazy Ex (July 25, 2011)
- Woman Physically Assaults Judge During Divorce Hearing: Melissa Harvick and Judge Jennifer Upchurch Edwards (July 17, 2011)
- Introduction to CrazyBusting and the CrazyBusters: What I Wish I Knew Before Marrying a Man with a Crazy Ex-Wife (July 13, 2011)
- Huffington Post Columnist Vicki Larson Cites Shrink4Men and Dr Tara J. Palmatier: Are Men Society’s Scapegoats? (July 12, 2011)
- To the Victim Go the Spoils: False Allegations, Men as Default Scapegoats and Why SOme Women Get Away with Murder (July 6, 2011)
June 2011
- Urgent Group Intervention Needed: Should this Man Marry his Abusive and Controlling Fiancee Next Week? (June 30, 2011)
- Ex-Girlfriend Tracy West Makes False Rape Allegations Against her Son’s Father to Gain Sole Custody and the State of California Refuses to Prosecute Her (June 28, 2011)
- Study Shows Two-Thirds of Public Wants Presumed 50/50 Custody Even in High-Conflict Divorces (June 27, 2011)
- Embed of Dr Tara J. Palmatier on AVFM Radio: “Accidental” Pregnancies and Reproductive Coercion (June 21, 2011)
- Dr Tara J. Palmatier on AVFM Radio Tuesday, June 21, 2011: “Accidental” Pregnancies, Entrapment and Children as Weapons (June 17, 2011)
- Texas Woman Tries to Burn Down Ex-Husband’s Home After Learning He Remarried (June 15, 2011)
- Hostile Dependency: Is your Wife, Girlfriend or Ex a Child Masquerading in the Body of a Woman? (June 7, 2011)
- True Story: Woman Steals Ex-Husband’s Sperm and Collects Almost $200,00 in Back Child Support (June 3, 2011)
May 2011
- What Does Crazy Sound Like? Psycho Ex-Girlfriend Stalks and Harasses Ex-Boyfriend Via Telephone (May 27, 2011)
- Are Women Who Make False Allegations of Abuse Against Their Husbands More Likely to Murder Their Children? Kelli Lynn Murphy Murders Her Children Rather Than Share Custody with the Father (May 24, 2011)
- Does your Wife or Ex-Wife Have a Golden Uterus Complex? 15 Characteristics of the Golden Uterus (May 17, 2011)
- Listen to Dr Tara J. Palmatier on AVfM Radio: The Crazy-Proofing your Romantic Life Embed (May 11, 2011)
- The Dark Side of Mother’s Day aka Golden Uterus Day: High-Conflict and Abusive Personality Disordered Mothers (May 9, 2011)
- The Divorce Danger Zone and the Power of NO: Giving in to a High-Conflict Ex in Order to Finalize a Divorce Is Often a Big Mistake (May 3, 2011)
April 2011
- International SlutWalks: More Attention-Seeking, Histrionic Women or Are They Trying to Make a Point and, If So, What Is It? (April 27, 2011)
- Family Court Minefields: Dirty Tricks Used by High-Conflict People in Custody Disputes and Parallel Parenting, Part 1 (April 26, 2011)
- Why High-Conflict and Abusive Personality Disordered Women Drag Out the Divorce Process (April 25, 2011)
- Shrink4Men Comment of the Week: How to Minimize Contact with your Abusive Ex-Wife When You Are Co-Parents (April, 22, 2011)
- 12-Year Old Girl and Parental Alienation Victim Commits Armed Robbery as a Result of Her Mother’s Lies (April 19, 2011)
- Are You An Abused Man? Three Questions (April 19, 2011)
- OurFamilyWizard, Part 2: Common Excuses Made by High-Conflict Parents Not to Use OFW and Effective Counter-Arguments (April 13, 2011)
- OurFamilyWizard: An Excellent Tool for Co-Parenting with a High-Conflict Person, Part 1 (April 8, 2011)
- Help Shrink4Men Fight Cyber-Bullies (April 4, 2011)
March 2011
- Just for Fun: The Damaged Women’s Coalition Video and Tear-Stained Letter (March 30, 2011)
- How to Crazy-Proof Yourself After Breaking Up with or Divorcing an Abusive Girlfriend or Wife, Part 1 (March 29, 2011)
- Personality Disorder Diagnoses in Family and Divorce Court: Pros and Cons (March 25, 2011)
- Dr Tara J. Palmatier of Shrink4Men Answers Callers’ Questions on A Voice for Men Radio (March 23, 2011)
- Shrink4Men News: Dr Tara J. Palmatier to Appear on A Voice for Men Radio (March 17, 2011)
- Teaching Boys and Young Men about Women and Dating, Part 1 (March 16, 2011)
- Fathers and Mothers: Teach your Children Well, Including your Sons (March 9, 2011)
- 22 Things to Teach your Son about Women (or Not) (March 7, 2011)
- Second Wives Sound Off, Part 2: What Makes You Angry about Divorce Law and Family Court? (March 4, 2011)
- Cringeworthy Divorce Attorney Commercials (March 3, 2011)
- Scenes from an Abusive Marriage: Should You Post an Abusive Wife’s Behavior on YouTube? (March 1, 2011)
February 2011
- Second Wives Sound Off, Part 1: What Makes You the Most Angry about Divorce Law and Family Court? (February 25, 2011)
- Female Stalkers, Part 4: Attachment Style as a Predictor of Who is More Likely to Stalk and Abuse and Who is More Likely to Be Stalked and Abused (February 23, 2011)
- Female Stalkers, Part 3: The Case of the Ex-Girlfriend Who Won’t Take ‘No’ for an Answer (February 17, 2011)
- Female Stalkers, Part 2: Checklist of Stalking and Harassment Behaviors (February 16, 2011)
- Woman Calls in False Bomb Threat to Iberia Airline Flight to Stop Boyfriend from Leaving (February 14, 2011)
- Female Stalkers, Part 1: What is Stalking and Can Men Be Stalked by Women? (February 8, 2011)
- Super Bowl 2011 Commercials: Why Is Physically Harming Men Funny? (February 7, 2011)
- Virtual Property or Community Property: Give Me Half your Farmville Points and Facebook Friends or the Real World Cash Equivalent! (February 1, 2011)
January 2011
- An Alternative to Divorce: Put your Wife on the No Fly-Suspected Terrorist List (January 31, 2011)
- How a Professional Referee Trains for Work at Home: An Abusive, High-Conflict Wife (January 27, 2011)
- Dr Phil and Domestic Violence: He Just Doesn’t Get It (January 24, 2011)
- Presto, Change-o, DARVO: Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender (January 19, 2011)
- High-Conflict and Abusive Personality-Disordered Women: The Emotional Judging Mind Vs. the Discerning Mind (January 17, 2011)
- Woman Calls 911 to Coerce Proposal: Marry Me Or Else! (January 14, 2011)
- Rudeness, Stress and Abuse are Neurotoxins: Children Who Witness Spousal Abuse Are at Risk (January 12, 2011)
December 2010
- After an Abusive Relationship: Getting Through the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays Without Her (December 28, 2010)
- A Domestic Violence Shelter for Pets, But None for Men and their Children: Safe Beds for Pets (December 22, 2010)
- Top 10 Christmas Gifts for your Abusive, High-Conflict Wife or Girlfriend (December 17, 2010)
- She’s the Crazy One, Why do I Need Therapy?!: Recovering from a Relationship with an Abusive Woman (December 16, 2010)
- Why Abusive, High-Conflict, Personality-Disordered Women Frequently Ruin Christmas (December 15, 2010)
- Parental Alienation: Navigating the Court System, Part 2 (December 10, 2010)
- What You Should Do If your Wife or Girlfriend Threatens to Call the Police and Make False Allegations (December 9, 2010)
- The Ultimate Relationship Deal-Breaker for Men: False Allegations and Threatening to Call the Police (December 6, 2010)
- Cluster B Personality Disordered Woman’s Guide to Conflict Resolution Process Flow Diagram (December 2, 2010)
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder to Be Eliminated from the DSM-V: Starbuck’s Diagnostics 101(December 1, 2010)
November 2010
- Breaking Up with an Abusive Girlfriend or Wife: Staring Into the Abyss (November 22, 2010)
- How to Isolate your Boyfriend: Relationship Self-Help Reaches New Low on wikiHow (November 20, 2010)
- How to Get Over an Abusive Girlfriend or Wife: Break the Routines (November 16, 2010)
- High-Conflict Phases of Abuse, Blame Shifting, Distortion, Rage and Manipulation Diagram (November 15, 2010)
- Why Some High-Conflict Personality Women Kill (November 10, 2010)
- Parental Alienation: Navigating the Court System, Part 1 (November 9, 2010)
- How to Get Over an Abusive Girlfriend: Write About It (November 8, 2010)
- “Funny” Divorce Cakes (November 5, 2010)
- Interview with New Shrink4Men Contributor and Abusive Girlfriend Survivor: Kev (November 4, 2010)
- Theresa Riggi Kills Her Children in Bitter Divorce Battle: Does She Have a Personality Disorder? (November 3, 2010)
- Parental Alienation: Programming and Brainwashing (November 2, 2010)
October 2010
- Leaving an Abusive Wife: Pre-Divorce Checklist (October 27, 2010)
- Can Men Be Abused by Women? (October 27, 2010)
- Interview with New Shrink4Men Contributor, Part 2: Natalie Malonis Family Law and High-Conflict Divorce Attorney (October 22, 2010)
- Interview with New Shrink4Men Contributor, Part 1: Natalie Malonis Family Law and High-Conflict Divorce Attorney (October 21, 2010)
- Teen Mom’s Amber Portwood Under Investigation for Domestic Violence After Physically Abusing Fiance on Television (October 20, 2010)
- Blame and Rage: What Abusive Women Call Problem-Solving (October 19, 2010)
- Welcome to the New Shrink4Men from Dr Tara J. Palmatier (October 18, 2010)
Original Shrink4Men WordPress Blog Index
This is the index of articles found on the original Shrink4Men WordPress blog.
October 2010
- Shrink4Men and Dr Tara J. Palmatier Are Moving to a New Address (October 19, 2010)
September 2010
- False Allegations, False Memories and False Remorse: Meredith Maran (September 23, 2010)
- Why Narcissism and Other High-Conflict Personalities Are on the Rise (September 20, 2010)
- The Ego Epidemic: Narcissism Is on the Rise (September 14, 2010)
August 2010
- Divorce and High-Conflict People: Borderlines, Narcissists, Histrionics, Sociopaths and Other Persuasive Blamers (August 31, 2010)
- News Item: Long Island Narcissist Hires Discount Hitman to Kill Her Husband During Divorce (August 18, 2010)
July 2010
- Reaction to Women Abusing Men in Public (July 29, 2010)
- Letter from an Adult Child of Cluster B Personality Disorder Parents: The Damage Done (July 26, 2010)
- Extreme No Contact: Delete Your Ex from the Internet! (July 19, 2010)
June 2010
May 2010
- Can an Abusive Borderline Personality Disorder Woman Really Change? (May 31, 2010)
- How Do I Get My Crazy, Abusive Girlfriend Out of My House and My Life? (May 4, 2010)
April 2010
- How Do I Divorce My Abusive Wife? (April 26, 2010)
- No Contact Includes Not Keeping Tabs on your Ex Via Facebook, Twitter, Blogs or MySpace (April 9, 2010)
March 2010
- Abusive Women, Cults, Brainwashing and Deprogramming, Part II (March 17, 2010)
- Abusive Women, Cults, Brainwashing and Deprogramming, Part I (March 12, 2010)
February 2010
- How Abusive Women Brainwash You (February 24, 2010)
- An Anthem for the Husbands and Boyfriends of Narcissistic, Borderline and Histrionic Women: Mr Guilty by Loudon Wainwright, III(February 11, 2010)
- Superbowl 2010 Commercials: Are Advertisers Trying to Tell Men Something? (February 8, 2010)
- What to Do When your Abusive Ex-Wife or Ex-Girlfriend Tries to Maintain Contact with your Family and Friends After the Divorce or Break-Up (February 2, 2010)
January 2010
- Just for Fun: The Best Safe Sex PSA Ever (January 29, 2010)
- Social Media Platforms, Narcissists, Borderlines and Histrionics: The Lure of Blogs, Facebook and MySpace (January 26, 2010)
- More on Emotional Detachment: Surviving an Ongoing Abusive Relationship (January 20, 2010)
- Bad Relationships: Change Your Role and the Rules of Engagement (January 15, 2010)
- Shrink4Men One Year Anniversary and the Year Ahead (January 12, 2010)
- Just for Fun Video: The Sad Truth About Relationships (January 9, 2010)
- Healthy Self-Love: The Foundation of Good Relationships (January 4, 2010)
December 2009
- An Unconventional Approach to Surviving the Holidays if You’re Recently Single (December 2, 2009)
- Emotional Detachment: When the No Contact Rule Is Not an Option (December 9, 2009)
- Top 10 Holiday Gifts for the Narcissist in your Life (December 10, 2009)
- You Are Not a Princess! 25 Points for Women and Men to Consider (December 15, 2009)
- Merry Christmas from Shrink4Men (December 25, 2009)
- The Shrink4Men Forum is Here (December 26, 2009)
November 2009
- WSJ: The New Art of Alimony (November 1, 2009)
- Dating Street Smarts: How to Spot Emotional Predators and Con Artists (November 4, 2009)
- The No Contact Rule: Ending an Abusive Relationship (November 12, 2009)
- Emails from a Crazy Girlfriend: Drama in a Vacuum (November 14, 2009)
- The No Contact Rule: Committing to It and Making It Work (November 19, 2009)
October 2009
- NARC’D! Encounter with a Female Narcissist (October 5, 2009)
- Just for Fun: 10 Things Men Know about Women (October 11, 2009)
- How to Find a Good Therapist If You Are Involved with an Emotionally Abusive Woman (October, 14, 2009)
- Burger Queen 911 Call: Narcissist Wants to Have It Her Way (October 18, 2009)
- Updated Special Offer: My Virtual Shrink (October 26, 2009)
- 8 Red Flag Dating Phrases that Should Send You Running (October 28, 2009)
- Just for Fun: Female Defense Mechanism Radio Control (October 31, 2009)
September 2009
- Will My Emotionally Abusive Girlfriend or Wife Be Different With the New Guy? (September 7, 2009)
- Just for Fun: How a Man’s Brain and a Woman’s Brain Work During an Argument (September 12, 2009)
- 10 Reasons You Can’t Communicate with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (September 17, 2009)
- Emotional Vampires: How Emotionally Abusive Women Screw You Up Flow Chart (September 27, 2009)
- Why Couples Counseling Rarely Works with Narcissistic and Borderline Women (September 28, 2009)
August 2009
- What Makes Your Control Freak Wife or Girlfriend Tick (August 3, 2009)
- 10 Lies Men Tell Themselves In Order to Stay in Emotionally Abusive Relationships with their Wives or Girlfriends (August 10, 2009)
- Cosmopolitan Magazine: Sometimes the Truth Hurts (August 13, 2009)
- 10 Things You Need to Do After Breaking Up with an Emotionally Abusive Woman (August 14, 2009)
- Sex and Control: How Men Get Screwed by Emotionally Abusive Women (August 17, 2009)
- What Can I Do to Protect My Unborn Child from My BPD-NPD Ex-Girlfriend (August 24, 2009)
- Divorce and Break-Ups: There Is No Closure with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (August 28, 2009)
July 2009
- Are You Stuck in an Unhealthy Relationship Pattern? Part Three (July 10, 2009)
- Breaking Up with an Emotionally Abusive Woman Video and Suicide Threats (July 14, 2009)
- 5 Stages of Letting Go of a Relationship with an Emotionally Abusive Woman (July 20, 2009)
- How Emotionally Abusive Women Control You: The Fear of Loss and the Need for Approval (July 27, 2009)
June 2009
- Coping Strategies for Dealing with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (June 1, 2009)
- 5 More Coping Strategies for Dealing with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (June 11, 2009)
- Are You Stuck in an Unhealthy Relationship Pattern? Part One (June 17, 2009)
- Another 5 Coping Strategies for Dealing with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (June 18, 2009)
- Request for Help: What Advice Do You Have for a Father Whose Son is about to Marry an Emotionally Abusive, Controlling Possibly BPD/NPD Woman? (June 18, 2009)
- 10 Warning Signs You’re Dating or Married to a Female Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (June 20, 2009)
- Happy Father’s Day (June 21, 2009)
- Are You Stuck in an Unhealthy Relationship Pattern? Part Two (June 23, 2009)
- Animated Video: Narcissistic-Borderline Wife Verbally Abusing Husband Courtesy of Xtranormal.com (June 24, 2009)
- Animated Video: Narcissistic Wife Yelling at Husband (June, 25, 2009)
- Coping Strategies 16-20 for Dealing with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (June 29, 2009)
May 2009
- How to Have a Healthy Relationship After Being With an Emotionally Abusive, Borderline or Narcissistic Woman (May 1, 2009)
- Am I in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship with a Narcissistic or Borderline Woman (May 6, 2009)
- Is It My Fault that My Borderline Girlfriend and I Broke Up? (May 14, 2009)
- 5 Ways to Avoid Becoming Involved with Another Crazy, Emotionally Abusive, Borderline or Narcissistic Woman (May 20, 2009)
- Is Being a Stay-at-Home Mom Fair to your Husband? (May 28, 2009)
April 2009
- Traumatic Love: Is Your Narcissistic or Borderline Wife or Girlfriend Making You Sick? (April 1, 2009)
- 25 Signs your Narcissistic or Borderline Wife or Girlfriend is Traumatizing You (April 2, 2009)
- Can a Relationship with a Narcissistic or Borderline Wife or Girlfriend Change your Personality? (April 8, 2009)
- Is a Borderline or Narcissist Woman’s Emotionally Abusive Behavior Premeditated? (April 13, 2009)
- Lindsay Lohan’s eHarmony Profile: If Only All Crazy Women Were This Honest (April 14, 2009)
- Can a Man Break the Cycle of Emotional Abuse After Being With a Crazy, Narcissistic or Borderline Wife or Girlfriend? (April 20, 2009)
- Can a Man Who Was Emotionally Abused By His Narcissistic or Borderline Wife or Girlfriend Have a Relationship with a Healthy Woman? (April 27, 2009)
March 2009
- Bill Maher, the Snuggie, Extenze and the American Psyche (March 2, 2009)
- Parental Alienation: Why Kids Usually Side with the Custodial Parent Especially If They’re Emotionally Abusive (March 6, 2009)
- The Secret to Happy, Long Lasting Relationships (March 9, 2009)
- Financial Fraud by Wall Street and Mortgage Lenders: Ignorance and Stupidity Are No Excuse (March 12, 2009)
- Workplace Bullying and Office Politics: What is Mobbing? (March 16, 2009)
- How to Avoid Bullying and Mobbing at Work (March 18, 2009)
- What to Do If You’re the Target of Bullying at Work (March 18, 2009)
February 2009
- How to Recognize 7 Personality Types in Office Politics (February 2, 2009)
- 5 Men to Avoid on Valentine’s Day: Don’t Be This Guy (February 3, 2009)
- 5 Women to Avoid on Valentine’s Day: Don’t Be This Lady (February 3, 2009)
- 6 More Office Politics Personality Types: Bullies in the Workplace (February 4, 2009)
- A Funny, But Honest Valentine’s Day Card (February 5, 2009)
- 15 Warning Signs She’s a Psycho Chick (February 6, 2009)
- 6 Signs Not to Propose to your Girlfriend on Valentine’s Day (February 6, 2009)
- More Funny Valentine’s Day Cards (February 7, 2009)
- 2 Reasons Why Valentine’s Day Gifts Cause Relationship Problems (February 9, 2009)
- 10 Gifts NOT to Give on Valentine’s Day (February 10, 2009)
- Emotional Abuse and Bullies: If You Don’t Like What You See When You Look in the Mirror, Don’t Blame the Mirror (February 12, 2009)
- The Emotionally Abusive Personality: Is She a Borderline or a Narcissist? (February 14, 2009)
- 7 Things You Need to Know About Emotional Abuse and Bullies (February 16, 2009)
- Why Men Are Attracted to Crazy, Emotionally Abusive Women (February 17, 2009)
- The Emotionally Abusive Woman: You Can’t Reason with a Crazy Person (February 18, 2009)
- Ending a Painful Relationship and Starting Over (February 19, 2009)
- How to Make Changes in your Relationship and Life (February 24, 2009)
- Why Parental Alienation is the Act of an Emotionally Abusive Bully (February 25, 2009)
- 3 Dating Tips for Having a Healthy and Successful Relationships (February 27, 2009)
January 2009
- Is She a Crazy Bitch? A Quiz (January 12, 2009)
- How to Deal with a Borderline Woman (January 13, 2009)
- Men Have Emotions, But Women Don’t Listen (January 14, 2009)
- Why your Wife’s Excuses for Not Working Are Lame (January 15, 2009)
- The Real Reason your Wife Doesn’t Want to Work (January 16, 2009)
- Are You My Soul Mate? Defining the One (January 19, 2009)
- 12 Signs You Should Break Up with your Boyfriend or Girlfriend or Spouse (January 20, 2009)
- 13 Signs your Girlfriend or Wife is a Borderline or a Narcissist (January 21, 2009)
- When Love Hurts: The Emotionally Abused Man (January 23, 2009)
- Relationship Roller Coaster Ride: The Cycle of Abuse (January 24, 2009)
- Why We Stay in Bad Relationships (January 26, 2009)
- Is Your Girlfriend or Wife a Professional Victim (January 27, 2009)
- I Ain’t Saying She’s a Gold Digger: Entitled Wall Street Wives Bail on their Husbands (January 28, 2009)
- 10 Signs your Girlfriend or Wife is an Emotional Bully (January 30, 2009)
Counseling with Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD
Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD helps individuals work through their relationship and codependency issues via telephone or Skype. She specializes in helping men and women trying to break free of an abusive relationship, cope with the stress of an abusive relationship or heal from an abusive relationship. Coaching individuals through high-conflict divorce and custody cases is also an area of expertise. She combines practical advice, emotional support and goal-oriented outcomes. Please visit the Schedule a Session page for more information.
Want to Say Goodbye to Crazy? Buy it HERE.
Santa Maria, Thank you. It does make the difference.
To all of the father’s out there who won’t hear from their children today because of parental alienation syndrome by a cluster b ex, you are not alone. Happy Father’s Day.
Dr. T, thank you for your incredibly well written and informative articles. God bless you for the work you do. I have forwarded several of your articles to a friend who is married to an abusive woman and I hope that it hits home when he is ready. Keep up the awesome work! Thank you.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
I am sending this link to my husband immediately!
He (thank God) got out of a horrible relationship with a horrible crazy woman!
Now WE have to deal with her! He is going to feel so supported! I can only help so much. For him to know you are out there… this is going to change his life!
My God! What a fantastic site! It is like breathing in fresh mountain air after years in a smoke filled room. I was married to a BPD with “narcissistic tendencies”. But wait, there’s more….this main entree was followed by side dishes such as PTSD, OCD, prescription drug abuse, chronic migraines, inability to hold a job, and near the end the doc’s and I suspected Munchausen’s. All came with generous helpings of verbal and emotional abuse and expert manipulation. Unfortunately as poor grad students we couldn’t afford a Ph.D. therapist and used a MSW,(a pretend therapist who has just enough knowledge to be dangerous). My wife ran circles around the MSW and manipulated her like a puppet. My spouse spent 4 years in therapy doing nothing at all other than playing victim and bitching about me and her doctors. NO ONE would tell me what was wrong with my spouse and docs and the MSW would usually just spew pure BS, they didn’t know any more than I did! If anything the MSW made things worse! The two of them liked to tag team me as the real problem when we tried couples therapy.
Dr. Tara, I wish your site had been around back then as it might have spared me years of pain or at least provided knowledge of how these nasty, pathetic, evil creatures operate. In any event I figured it out myself and think you are doing the world a huge favor with your site! I divorced in 2003 and a few months later my ex passed away. I moved out of state, finished my degree and found a healthy normal woman who is the love of my life. I have never been happier! As a result of my experiences with the ex I can practically smell BPD/NPD and they literally make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. If I were dictator of the world I’d have them all rounded up and exiled to some island near the Arctic circle where they could just torment each other and leave the rest of humanity alone.
For those of you in a relationship with a BPD/NPD take Dr. Tara’s advice! She is abso-freaking-lutely SPOT ON!!! RUN as fast as you can away from these “people.” Don’t walk, don’t hesitate, don’t try to reason, plead,or bargain with them or change them. You can’t be their friend and you can’t help them. They are incapable of real love or empathy. Don’t accept calls, e-mails, texts from them. Break all contact ASAP! Remember…they have only 2 settings: 1) inflict pain on others and 2) inflict pain on themselves. That’s all you really need to know.
Don’t buy into any pop-psych/academic psych BS about how we should all be “compassionate and understanding” of these folks. M.D.s and Psy.D.s loathe BPD/NPD patients. Many simply refuse to work with them. If the people who have devoted their entire professional career to healing and to alleviating human suffering can’t be in the same room as a BPD/NPD why should you?
Kudos Dr. Tara! YOU GO GIRL! Keep up the good work. To those who are victims of the BPD/NPD godspeed and good luck!
Dr. J
What a fantastic site! From 1983 until 1988 I was involved in a relationship with Narcissistic/Borderline worman. My daughter found a picture of the woman and asked why we broke up. I didn’t have an answer. I knew we broke up for good reasons but I never knew what I had been dealing with. I met the woman who’s been my wife while I was disengaging from the previous one and never dealt with the emotional implications (couldn’t talk to the ex, couldn’t tell the new girlfriend). I began chronicling the relationship and sent it to an old friend who became a clinical social worker. She recommended I research Narcissistic-Borderline relationships and came upon this site. Between this site and some clinical texts on trauma, I can answer questions that eluded me for over 20 years. I moved on but until I read those books and this series, I was never quite free of her ghost. I would still play the tapes of things over in my head trying to find answers. I have most of them now and believe there are none for others. I wish I had known about this 25 years ago. Keep up the good work!
Dr T,
Do you have posts pre-Jan ’09?
Hi Dr Tara,
I am a woman and I am married to a man whose Ex is a malignant narcissist, as is his eldest 16 year old daughter and his youngest 14 year old daughter (sigh). I have been reading your website since it started because it does give me some comfort – we knew years before that the Ex was a narcissist, but there wasn’t much on the web about female narcissism.
I would love to hear from men that have had children, but don’t have custody of them, and how they deal with the relentless rages, criticism, drama, accusations, manipulation, threats, gas-lighting, etc, etc, that goes on. The narcissism has affected my husband’s relationship with his children, and I doubt it will ever be ‘normal’. The brainwashing has been so intense that they can’t simply see who he is – a good, sensitive, non-confrontational man (yes, a perfect narcissistic target).
A lot of your articles are targeted at helping men understand the abuse in their marriages and assisting them to move on or assisting men to identify the narcissist before it gets serious.
What happens when they have children and they have to keep seeing their ex wives? What happens when the children are deliberately alienated from them?
What happens when the children are growing up to be narcissists as well?
I would really love you to write an article for those people like myself and my husband that are in this position. What are your suggestions for coping? We have put strong boundaries in place to protect ourselves, but the abuse is relentless and never-ending and we have to see the kids, so it’s always there.
It has been a decade of this $hit and I am so unbelievably over it. I feel ground down and exhausted by it. I am honestly thinking that the only solution is to go and live in another part of the country!
Gemini,
Just to pass on some of my experience. Although I did not have children with my X-N, I was witness to the ex-husband dealing with her and his son. As well, my dilemma with bonding with her son. I was convinced her ex was a problem throughout the relationship, only because of what she stated about him. Towards the last couple years of our relationship, I began to wonder about the truth of her ex. He never once conveyed jealousy about being around his son, in fact, we attended many of his son’s functions with shared involvement. Towards the last year my X-N and I were together, the ex-husband began to show extreme concern for his son’s well being, his demeanor, his attitude towards the father, etc., for he was showing signs of his mother’s behavior. He referred to his ex-wife as a “master manipulator and a Liar.” I of course, could not have agreed with him more, yet, I had to remain neutral to protect myself.
As for my bonding with her son, it really never happened. No matter what I did, this child had methods of his own to make me look bad in the eyes of his mother. It was purely amazing the skills this boy had at 10 years of age. His mother doted upon him, and protected his every action, despite fault or blame. She believed that he deserved the same entitlement as she did. I was losing the battle at both ends. As for her ex-husband, being he was not the custodial parent, he was at a loss as well. As I’ve researched and studied BPD/NPD, I’ve concluded that the facade of her ex was indeed just that, as he exuded a non-confrontational and amicable personality towards me, as well as, put forth an honest effort to keep peace and do what was within his power for the sake of his son. It breaks my heart to believe that it may be too late for his son to cleanse himself of these egregious traits.
You’ve stated that your husbands ex is a MN…was that diagnosed? If it indeed was, then you most likely have legal options. If not and she only fits what you perceive as fitting specific diagnostic criteria, then it will be difficult to change the status of custody. Unless your husband is willing to drag her into court under the pretense that she possibly has an extreme disorder that affects the well being of the children. That could drag-on for a very long time. The thought that your husband must consider is, what is the long term price that will be paid in his future relationship with his daughter’s. What both of you are going through today, can be no worse than if he takes action against her to gain custody,..jmho. Record one on one conversations, do diaries on both the ex and the kids reactions, engage in email correspondence and save such that exudes her bad behavior. These things are beneficial and can shorten the lengthy judicial process. As well, it can prove what kind of “crazy bitch” she is when the daughter’s need proof. Doing so would require care, diplomacy,finesse and a matter of proper timing. Tread carefully as the crazy woman is still their mother! This is the biggest barrier to overcome as the daughter’s may indeed like their situation with their mother,i.e., developed traits and characteristics of the mother that they deem advantageous to their perceived well being. Key word here, “perceived.”
There are ways to cope, it is temporary at best, and her behavior will only adjust to such coping methods. Best way in my opinion (if you decide not to take legal action) is to limit communication and contact to absolute essential needs of the daughter’s (their outside activities, school,etc.) They are the only common tie and anything else, unless the ex and your husband own property or investments together, should be all that requires such communication or interaction. Understanding the nature of her beast can bring some solace to your mind in that she IS a “crazy bitch” and simply ignore her, rather than reacting to her as if she personally has wounded you both. To a very large degree, her words and actions cannot personally hurt you, unless you allow it. Create a plan between you and your husband and be on the same page where it concerns how you each should engage the ex, and as well, how you will further respond to one another. In other words, don’t let her get the best of you and your husband and affect how you interact. Exhaust her, not you and your husband. Your two heads are better than her one. Let her live in the perpetual hell she creates. Lastly, think about the best interests of the daughter’s.
Thanks Me love for your advice.
We have been very rigorous in setting boundaries and managing the N’s behavior over the years, and have done all if not more of what you’ve suggested.
And, we have kept copies of all correspondence and noted things in our diaries over the years, just in case all all goes pear shaped.
I could write a book on it really.
No, she has not been officially diagnosed – good heavens do you really think she would willingly see a psychiatrist or psychologist?? She is an N after all!
Legal action to gain custody of the kids is not an option, mainly because I highly value my sanity and I don’t want 2 teenage narcissists living in my house.
My question was really how one deals with the children of a narcissist, who are also narcissists and who perpetuate their mother’s mind set, values and behaviors.
Yes, we can have their best interests at heart, but it’s pretty difficult really when all we get in return is criticism, judgement and manipulation.
Hi Gemini,
What you have to deal with sounds awful. Even after the girls turn 18, there will be graduations, weddings, births, etc., which will necessitate contact with the ex.
Unfortunately, if the child(ren) spend the majority of their time with their mother, the best you can do is be a good role model and demonstrate healthier behaviors, set boundaries and enforce consequences. I would also try to advocate to get the girls into counseling and make him or her aware of these behaviors.
The best advice I have for you and your husband is to emotionally distance yourself from his ex as best you can. You can’t cut her completely out of your lives, but you can make the choice to not let her pathology get to you. When you react or become angry at her behaviors, you give away your power to her. When you refuse to play along with her mind games and “don’t take the bait,” you take back your power.
Most NPD behavior is designed to elicit a reaction in their targets. The only way to win with an NPD is not to play their game. I encourage you and your husband to adopt an attitude of, “Narc-y Nancy is at it again” or “Looks like her nibs isn’t getting enough attention again” or “Looks like the control freak is feeling out of control again.”
This woman is what she is. She’s not going to change—maddening as that is. However, you and your husband can change how you respond to her manipulations. You can also choose not to let her detract from your happiness of having found each other and being together. Trust me, she would like nothing better than to know she gets to you.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Thanks Dr Tara, as I mentioned to Melove, we have done all you’ve/he’s suggested if not more.
When we were dealing with one N it was manageable, but now we’re dealing with 3. Mother plus children. That was really my question – it’s not just the Ex now, it’s the children as well.
The Ex has chosen her own path and obviously will continue to gas light and manipulate. Over time, we have limited contact with her. And, we have changed how we respond to all the crap.
My question was, what do you do when the children are like this as well?
Limiting contact with your own children makes you REALLY look like a bad father! How does one emotionally distance oneself from one’s children?
Hi Gemini,
Unfortunately, you may need to reconcile yourself to the fact that there may be no way to reach these girls. It’s heartbreaking, but true. This is exactly why family court needs to get wise to the fact that a woman isn’t the default better parent.
After the girls are both 18, you and your husband need to decide how much contact/abuse you can tolerate from his daughters. You may need to have “the talk” in which he outlines acceptable vs. non-acceptable behavior, set boundaries and say, “If you act like ____________, if you treat your step-mother and me like ___________, you won’t be welcome in our home. Being a parent isn’t synonymous with being a martyr. It’s a tough love policy similar to the kind parents with children who are addicts implement. I can’t imagine how painful it is to do, but you and your husband both have a right to healthy and happy lives.
Sadly, if these two girls are on the road to Axis II, it doesn’t matter what you and your husband actually do—unconditional love and acceptance or setting healthy boundaries—you’ll both be vilified while they hit you up for money and other material resources. The opposite side of this coin are parents whose adult sons or daughters marry a narcissistic man or woman. If the parents of the non-narc don’t cow tow to the NPD, they’re cut out of their child’s life or have their relationship restricted. These parents also have to decide how much abuse they’re willing to tolerate in order to be a part of their children’s and grandchildren’s lives.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Hi Dr T,
In my heart I knew that the approach you’re suggesting would be our only feasible option. Sigh.
We’ve worked hard to set the sorts of boundaries you’re suggesting, and have really made an effort to not get sucked into being the source of money and other material resources. Clearly we will always need to continue to do this!
You’re right, we have a right to be happy. We have to put our OWN health and happiness first and accept that they have chosen their own paths in this lifetime. If we’re walking a different path to them, so be it.
There is some reassurance in this for me, that this is the ‘right’ thing for us to do.
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions and comments, it has been really helpful to express how I feel on your forum, and I hope that others reading this thread get something from it.
My ex was a narcissist and really did my head in.
I only wish I had known about this years ago.
Great website!
Dr. Tara –
Selfawareness posted a really good comment above, which is useful for those of use whose exes were the unobtrusive, quiet, modest types in public and even mostly in private, yet STILL managed to put us into turmoil and wreck our lives. He said:
“Not ALL female emotional manipulators/abusers are the stereotypical yelling, raging, berating, type we have been conditioned to believe and expect. Mine, a short, but REALLY intense, 8-month relationship, was quite the opposite (even in private… and towards me!) Mine NEVER did any of those things; she never once even raised her voice! She had her sh*t together, seemed down to earth and quite level-headed, and extremely pleasant to be around! What she DID do was so subtle, that I didn’t even recognize it as abuse until AFTER distancing myself from her for several months with no contact. She was a MASTER of playing the martyr/victim, and using THAT as justification for why I should be “understanding” and give her the “reassurance” she needed as proof that I was trustworthy.”
These kind of women seem to confuse and punish you very quietly, but continually, and it is always below the radar to the public, and often even to yourself, until they finally pull the plug on you. And then they do it so smoothly that those on the outside figure it must have been your fault, because after all “she seems so ordinary and nice and proper, I just can’t believe that … .”
It especially makes it hard to sort out what happened, because you have been blamed by her for everything for so long, and there aren’t the blatant signs flashing, and no really over-the-top emotional episodes to pin it on. It also makes it easier for them to keep confusing you after they dump you, which confusion you said was their specialty in your Narc’d! article.
Mine left me after a long period of increasing but very “quiet” punishment to me: cold shoulder treatment and physical withdrawal, quitting household responsibilities, threats of separation, quitting counseling when the counselor suggested she might be part of the problem, and even secretly filing a lawsuit against me to show me she was serious about her “needs” not being met. (Nobody knew or would have believed any of this!) When I tried to meet these needs, she left anyways, but would not divorce me. She then gave me a list of what it would take to win her back (earn more money, start dating her all over again, absolutely no criticism of her). This was unbelievable to me, and I finally refused.
Then she began suggesting that we have regular scheduled “meetings” over coffee and such, like nothing had happened, and she was reasonable and pleasant (to the extent you can call it that after what she had just done). But whenever I opposed her or said no to her on something, she dropped the mask and became very cold. When I said no to these “dates”, she got mad and said “you’re not even being nice to me!” I wondered, why in the world would she think I ought to, after she told me she didn’t love me anymore, sued me, and left me brokenhearted and reeling and our family shattered?
Through all of this she hid it from everyone she could, except her enablers (lawyer, real estate agent, a couple of geographically distant friends/relatives – she didn’t seem to have any close friends nearby, even though she was much more “social” than me). After she left she asked me not to tell our usual social circles, even asked me to continue attending weekly events that we had always attended, and to sit with her and pretend like nothing had happened – she said it was “for the children”. She hid her departure from a lot of people for a long time – I got many calls for months at home after she left, asking for her, and they were all completely shocked that she was gone or could have done such thing – and these were people who saw her regularly out in the world, every week. She maintained a very high public profile among these people, and noticeably ramped up her visibility and activity among them even while she was not telling them what she had done.
It was like living in a bad dream for a while, until I divorced her.
Could you do an article focusing on the “covert” abuse you mentioned in your response to Selfawareness? These types may not be so explosive or obvious, but they still grind you down and leave you devastated and deeply hurt when they leave. It would help many of us, I think.
Thank you.
AnonymousT
Anonymous,
What you describe is closer to what Mine is…..quiet and covert. Yet the Cold Shoulder, Withdrawing, criticism, blaming me for everything wrong…
…Blaming me for whats wrong…that needs it’s own paragraph and here is why. Our past gets revised and only half truths are included. I call it lies of omission, and I like to recite the following “Be aware of half truths, you may have gotten hold of the wrong half” Her revision of our History paints me in a very bad light. To hear her explain it, I am the biggest loser this side of the Pecos River. Yet, in my defense, Up until Monday (3 days ago)I’ve been the only source or income since 1993 or so.
So yes, back to your original point, they do not have to scream or be loud or cause a huge scene in the neighborhood to by BPD…Covertness is key to the crazy making that my wife engages in. This way everyone else thinks she is normal. I on the other hand may be emotional in front of anyone. If I am angry or upset…it shows.
So now, I am the bad guy in the eyes of the public and she is the victim.
See how it works?
My NPD/BPD ex was also of the covert variety, and to be honest, I think I would have rather she’d been a screaming lunatic. It was really frustrating not to know what was going on or what she was really feeling, because she was never really open with me. It usually wasn’t until I was deep into one of her cold shoulder episodes that I was able to drag out of her what was going on, and that’s when I got an earful of accusations.
Her favorite accusation was that I was a very angry person, and that I went into “rages” over very minor things. I am a pretty quiet and reserved guy, and I don’t yell and scream. I do have the tendency to get frustrated or upset from time to time, as most humans do, but it is absolutely not the norm. She would hold these alleged “rage” episodes against me for weeks, and just when I thought I was in the process of getting back on her good side, I’d be accused of something else. If I wasn’t raging, I wasn’t being helpful enough around the house, I wasn’t appreciative of what she did for me, I wasn’t romantic enough with her, or I was just being mean in general. Never mind that I supported her financially, bent over backwards to give her what she wanted, and suffered constant rejection every time I attempted to be romantic.
She very rarely expressed any kind of real emotion, unless she wanted something from me, and she was not comfortable with me expressing emotion of any kind. She would often refer to me as the “woman” in the relationship, because I dared to express my feelings to her.
I would also love to hear Dr. Tara’s thoughts on this variety of NPD/BPD, because it is difficult to detect at first. My impression of an abuser has always been someone yelling and screaming, as I’m sure is the case for many other people. It took me quite a while to admit that I was dealing with someone that had a personality disorder, even after repeated assurances by my therapist. She counseled both my ex and I, together and separately, and had suspected early on that my ex was a BPD/NPD sufferer. It’s still difficult to believe it, because my ex was so good at convincing me it was all my fault.
StillRecovering
I know what you mean about wishing she was a screaming lunatic. It’s not that it would be easier to tolerate – it’s that it would be easier to identify. Eg. “She really is nuts, look at her throwing lamps across the room at me because I was boiling eggs in the wrong pot. Well, I’m out of here.”
Instead we got suckered into thinking we’ve done something awful to really upset them. And slowly, maybe, we notice that it seems like we’re ALWAYS in trouble, and never ever get to be correct (Not “right” in the win/lose sense, just “not wrong”).
Frankly, I think the covert stuff is extra evil. Not only is it rotten behavior, but it’s SNEAKY too. It’s smiling at you while stabbing you in the back over and over with a tiny little knife.
Re: the “woman” comment. Mine did that to me once (at least). I think she said “One of us needs to wear the pants” while we were out in public. Then she got mad at me when I was upset.
Just thought I’d share another instance of how these women can continue to dig the knife covertly. In this case, without even being in the same location.
This particular instance happened yesterday. My divorce is final, but my ex continues to make claims on my health insurance. I am currently in the process of getting her removed from the policy, but I had to wait until I had the divorce documents in my hands, which I only received a few days ago. Yesterday, I received a benefits statement in the mail, showing that she has once again made a claim on my insurance, and needless to say I was not happy. This has been happening at least 2 to 3 times a month. The claim was made after the finalization of the divorce, which I find to be inexcusable.
I was also informed by a family member that my ex, who is completely addicted to the site thenest.com, still has our engagement photo prominently displayed on her wedding planning profile on that site (she still maintains the profile and visits the site often. I don’t understand why). She had promised to remove the photo and this was one of the stipulations in the final divorce agreement. About a month ago I made a request via thenest that she remove the photo, and thought that she did, but soon discovered that she had lied. I really want to have the photo removed from the site, because I don’t want to have any connection to her whatsoever.
Since I still owe quite a bit of money to my lawyer, and I have absolutely no way of contacting her, I did the only thing I could think of, and posted my request on the public bulletin board she is constantly on. The last thing I wanted to do was have to air my dirty laundry in public, but I had had enough, and it was the only way I could think of to reach her. I requested that she remove the picture (with just a touch of smart-ass thrown in. I couldn’t help myself), and I gave her a heads up that her free ride on my health insurance was coming to an end. It was a very civil, to the point letter. I even tried to be a little humorous. She didn’t respond, although I know she was on the board, but her little “nestie” girlfriends replied in droves. They apparently didn’t get my attempt at humor.
I have never experienced anything like it in my life. I can only imagine the nasty lies my ex has told these women, because I was called every dirty name in the book. I was also accused of stalking and harassment. I was told that the divorce was my fault, and that I deserved it because of what she said I had done to her (no details were given). I tried to make the point that I was simply making a request, and nothing more. I didn’t want to get down in the mud and argue with these “nesties”. I told them that once the photo was gone, I would be gone. Simple as that.
I have no idea if it did any good, since I haven’t checked to see if the photo is gone, but it really helped to understand what a lying, back stabbing type of person my ex really is. I’ll check in a few days, and if it’s still there, I guess I’ll be forced to contact my attorney again. I went to great lengths to keep the divorce civil and amicable, when I could have easily dragged her through the mud. I really hate the idea that I am looked at as the bad guy in this situation, especially after everything I did to try and make her happy and support her. It’s really making me think twice about getting into a relationship again.
StillRecovering (#32)
I agree w/ Q – they likely would have sided with her either way.
Instead of asking HER to take the photo down, politely ask the site owners to take it down, with no smart-ass comments. You might want to just have your lawyer do it – you kinda stepped in it when you called her out publicly.
And then get off of that site, man. Tell your family to stop web-stalking her. If they can’t do that, at least stop telling YOU about it.
Here’s why:
1. Now she’s getting extra attention from her Nesties – which she is absolutely loving, I promise.
2. She knows you’re watching and she’s still got her hooks in you, WHICH SHE IS LOVING.
I think you should build yourself a nice little mental wall and block her out. Really, if your family won’t shut up about her, run out of the room with your fingers in your ears. After you do it four or five times at major holidays, they’ll stop bringing it up. ;)
Q, you’re probably right. The group of women on TheNest is much like a high school clique of girls. However, I’m inclined to believe that my ex trashed me to them quite extensively, especially since not one of their accusations is true. Either that, or these women have some vicious imaginations.
@Mr.E,
I guess I got so tired of her draining money out of me, I just didn’t see the point in going to my lawyer for a simple request to take down a photo. I had tried to contact the site before, and received absolutely no response from them.
I don’t really feel like I did anything wrong, since I didn’t insult or demean her in anyway. I simply stated facts, and did it in a public forum she frequents because I had no other way to contact her. I had just gotten so tired of being taken advantage of and accused of things I didn’t do. The fact is all of the women on the board she frequents know that she is divorced anyway, so it wasn’t like I made any kind of great revelation.
Just to clarify, I really could care less what these women think, that wasn’t really even my point. I was trying to stand up for myself, and did in the only way I knew to contact her. I do realize that doing it in the place I did probably wasn’t ideal, but that’s what happened.
Some of my family members were monitoring the site for me during my divorce to gather evidence. I don’t know if I would call it stalking, however. My ex had admitted to adulterous activity on the site, among other things, and I was constantly collecting this information in case it was necessary during divorce proceedings. I was actually advised by my attorney to monitor the site to make sure that she removed the photo in question.
Wow, StillRecovering, I could have written that myself. Point by point, I experienced every single one of the things you wrote.
Anonymous1, Mr. E, thanks for the comments. It really helps to hear others have experienced the same thing, although I certainly wish none of us had to experience it at all. I never in a million years thought I’d find myself in this situation. Even though the divorce is final, I still find myself in a state of disbelief that it actually happened. I always thought I was too smart to be conned, and I was wrong.
Actually, I doubt that she would really have needed to lie to her nesties about anything. They probably would have sided with her anyway whether they know the truth or not.
Exactly! This is exactly what I have been looking for. Sometimes I feel intrusive for reading this blog, as I am a woman searching for answers as to why my ex could not let go of his ex-wife. This site has given me a peek into how narcissistic women operate, and the effect this has on the men they date/marry. As I have stated in previous posts, I suspect my ex-boyfriend’s ex-wife was narcissistic. I never could figure out why he could not let go of her, and would continue to lie to me about his interactions with her. He once told me that their divorce was all his fault, and he was lucky that she even talked to him. He tried to explain to me why he MUST go by her house to visit the dog. He says that when he goes by her house the dog is excited to see him, she is always excited to see him, her parents come over and are excited to see him, her nieces visit and hug him, etc. He pleaded with me to understand why he needs this. They make him feel loved. They still care for him after everything that has happened. I am dumbfounded. Do I not make him feel loved? I am always excited to see him. But for some reason he cannot let his ex and her family go, and he will not allow me to be a part of this. However, he does not see her to be a narcissist because she never had a meltdown. She always kept her emotions in check. Somehow she could always make him feel guilty and unworthy of her love. Therefore, when she showed him attention he was grateful. I’m not even sure if she is a narcissist, but there must be some reason for his co-depency on her and her family. There has to be a reason that he cannot move forward with his life, even after she left him and has been in a relationship with another man since. We have broken up several times over this issue, and during those periods he is free to call her, visit her, take her out to eat, visit her family, the dog, etc. Of course during the times she is with her boyfriend he is alone and lonely. Each time we have broken up over this he is miserable, and ends up returning to me telling me that he misses me, and is sorry for letting me go. He tells me he wishes very much he could quit calling and visiting his ex-wife, and tells me he will stop. He stops for a while, but after several months he will suddenly withdraw from me only to call her again. and the cycle begins again. He is miserable, but he cannot see that what he is doing is wrong. He sees me as the one who is causing the problems, and blames me because he is doing nothing wrong by calling and visiting her. And I should understand why he should attend family events with her and her family. He still cares about them, and they care about him. I should understand that I am not part of that family, but they will aways be part of his family, even after the divorce. He says he didn’t divorce her family. And he doesnt see she is narcissistic because she has no episodes. In fact, because she has never shown much emotion, when I cry, or get emotional he says he cannot handle this. He rarely will try to comfort me. If I cry, he asks me to leave.He tells me that he doesn’t want to feel responsible for my tears. We are not together now, because of all of this. He has so many issues, yet I don’t think he sees them. He sees me as the problem, for not being able to accept his relationship with his ex. It has been very painful and confusing to me. But, yes, I would like to see if there is anything out there dealing with the covert narcissism. It seems that when she is upset with him she gives him the cold shoulder, etc. And this seems to terrify him. He is so afraid of losing her. Yet, if I do this, he doesn’t seem to care. It seems he is more afraid of losing her and her family than losing me.
That you can even stomach reading this blog without getting explanatory and defensive is total proof that you are a cool squared away lady. The guy you were with is caught in a quagmire. He is bewitched. I know-because i am STILL trying to climb out of my black morass. As is the ex-husband before me.
I have been through all of this. The difficulty is after divorce I want to see my kids and my ex wife uses my kids to try to keep up her torture, insisting on supervised visitation, counseling with me present, ect … Counseling means sitting in a room and her bashing me. And the counselors just keep it going no matter how much you complain. If you don’t do this, they will brand you as uncooperative. They adopt the mindset of the abusive person not even caring what damage they do to you. You are just a father-object.
I have resolved not to allow these idiots from demoralizing me for their own gain – psychological or otherwise.
Very Sad……..
If the supervised visitation and extra counseling isn’t mandated in your Divorce Decree then I wouldn’t do it.
If it is mandated, I’d see about what to do to get the Decree modified.
I’m lucky and had a good result – but she has already tried to “influence” what I do at my home, and its only been 2 weeks. Interesting.
I no longer have supervised visitation nor mandated counseling by agreed court order (after false allegations were made and my kids kept from me). Now, having a supervisor see my kids at the begining and end of the vist protects me from more false allegations. I just keep agreeing to it for that sole reason – maintaining contact with my kids.
But the “therapy” is just a bash session against me – always keeping the focus off her. It feeds this hungry emotional vampire I guess. I dread going to these sessions with my X because I end up thinking about all she says about me. I can’t stop these thoughts going over and over.
It is all pure abuse against me and even my parents and relatives. It is the sickest thing I have ever seen and I still cannot fathom how or why the counselor keeps this going unless he has just adopted her viewpoint about me. It is mind-numbing – sucking the joy out of me.
As an objective person, I cannot fathom how a trained psychologist could fail to see that this woman is a wacked out lunatic. Even if he recognizes this, why the hell would you put me through this? It is crazy.
Six hundred years ago you would call this woman an evil witch. Now the parlance is that she is an undiagnosed Cluster B. Regardless, why am I supposed to be her constant victim. How is this okay?
I dropped my son off at church Sunday and we were one minute late and this woman makes a scene right on the steps of the church throwing up her hands and all. What a total sin – doing that and then taking my kids inside to church. What kinds of message does that send?
I just thank God that I am not her. I like to believe as this website suggests that she burns in Hell right here on earth because she has a big black hole in her soul. Than God I am not her.
I just wish I could find a way to have absolutely no contact with her whatsoever. But the psychologist just keeps the pain going. It is just crazy-making.
And no I am not a masochist. I will never, ever see my kids without following this program, absolutely. I have already been through contempt motions and the courts just want to give it to the therapists.
I proabably have PTSD, who knows. Every woman I see now is a lunatic because this evil woman. I associate gross, sick thoughts seeing a mother and her baby – one of the most wholesome things you can think of.
I can absolutely understand how and why people snap and lose it. Unless you have great personal self-esteem (which I do) and strength, this is just too much to deal with.
I found your web site today, whilst looking for spme legal advise regarding seperation from a BPD woman, what an eye opener. I thought I was alone in how my realationship had turned, I have not looked for this kind of re-assurance, that it was not ‘me’ but your articles (10 Things You Need to Do After…) and Blogs have helped me today, in one afternoons of surfing realise that what I intend to do (walk away) is the only course of action.
I feel I’m just getting through the denial phase, still in pain and grief, but can see acceptance just over the hill, which I’m already half way up, so won’t go back.
I just can’t say thank you enough, would have liked to share more thoughts, and maybe will one day, right now I need to pack a bag, and return home to start the process.
Thank you again.
Richard
Hi Richard,
You are definitely not alone, which is one of the reasons I created this website. Abusive women maintain their power by keeping their behavior a secret and isolating their targets. Once you identify and expose them for what they are, their power begins to diminish. Knowledge is power. These women brainwash men into believing their behavior is “normal” when it is anything but.
I’m happy to read you’ve gotten out of the relationship and wish you the best as you regain your life.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Men,
Try pointing a video camera towards her during one of her tirades. Will this shut/calm her down? Will filming her be future evidence against her? Will you film her while she’s attacking you? Will she want to attack you while you’re filming her?
If an NPD woman is smart enough to manipulate, then she/you would figure that she’d be smart enough to realize that video evidence of her actions may be used against her.
Dr. T,
I miss wrapping my arms around her from behind, pressing my left ear against her right ear, and rocking our heads back-and-forth, holding hands in dirty dish water. I have yet to find closure, but you are helping. Thanks for your insight.
You’re welcome, Mark. Just keep moving forward and you’ll get through it.
Best,
Dr Tara
First, I find your website to be a needed breath of fresh air for our society. The crutch of sexism, used by both men AND women to defer taking responsibility for one’s self and one own actions, has gone way too far! And a big thanks to YOU for it: your writings have gone a long way towards that
One thing which may be of help to your readers (just from my personal experiences)…
Not ALL female emotional manipulators/abusers are the stereotypical yelling, raging, berating, type we have been conditioned to believe and expect. Mine, a short, but REALLY intense, 8-month relationship, was quite the opposite (even in private… and towards me!) Mine NEVER did any of those things; she never once even raised her voice! She had her sh*t together, seemed down to earth and quite level-headed, and extremely pleasant to be around! What she DID do was so subtle, that I didn’t even recognize it as abuse until AFTER distancing myself from her for several months with no contact.
She was a MASTER of playing the martyr/victim, and using THAT as justification for why I should be “understanding” and give her the “reassurance” she needed as proof that I was trustworthy:
* the frequent reminders of how she’s hit on constantly while working or while out (trying to knock me off-center, I suppose…); to which I ALWAYS responded “you’re a gorgeous woman, and that’s to be expected… You’re fully capable of telling all these guys ‘NO”, and I trust you, and it doesn’t bother me…” because it really didn’t bother me. I TRULY, GENUINELY meant it , and I didn’t even know it was emotional manipulation (in retrospect, it must have frustrated the HELL out of her… )
*the out of the blue conversations, where she’d mention an ex-boyfriend who’d either called/text her earlier that day, and how he was still obsessed after all these years. I gave her the same response as above.
*she’d grill me about periods of time (like an hour!) and use that to question what I was doing, and how “suspicious” it was that I was unavailable during that time. She relied on the “consensus” (she has 6 sisters) who, of course, ALL thought my behavior was “strange” and “suspicious”, and that maybe I was cheating on her…
*she dropped hints 4 times about how her employers were thinking about transferring her out of state. That never came to fruition (of course)…
*she also frowned on opposite-sex friendships, thought it strange that I didn’t buy her a birthday gift (after only having known her for a few weeks, because we met a bit before her birthday), and on Valentine’s day, said she wanted it to be “really special”, but we decided on a “no gifts” policy…just Valentine’s Day cards… I prepared a candlelight dinner for us @ her place, took her out afterward, and, (of course) SHE pulls out HER gifts for me( I didn’t get her anything because we had agreed on it… also HER idea), and a few weeks later, I was lectured and questioned on my “strange” behavior regarding gift-giving, as she had consulted her gyno-jury, (supposedly) and THEY came to the same conclusion…
Tactics like this serve several functions: a) they’re meant to suggest how truly desirable she is, b) that I can be “replaced” at any time, c) that males, as a group, are untrustworthy, cheating, pigs, d) and that I needed to be available for her 24/7, as evidence that I’m trustworthy…
In the end, she decided one day, to send me a text message saying that she’d decided to move out of state, got pissed off at me for not having sent her Easter Sunday flowers earlier that day (???!!!) and actually used my negative response (that it was weak and childish to tell me such life-changing news by text and expect flowers I didn’t know I was even supposed to send…. but I told her I “it breaks my heart, but I love you and support your decision”… ), and actually used MY response as proof that I was “not the man she thought I was” and that was proof enough that I wasn’t “the one” !!! (she never did end up leaving, by the way…)
And, although I went no contact ever since, SHE STILL emailed me a couple of dozen times – after HER supposedly ending things with ME – with conflicting and contradictory mindf*ck, and “accidentally” text-messaged me a few more times… I wonder WHY someone who had come to the conclusion that I wasn’t “the one” would act that way (…don’t need an answer… already got my answer!)
But I TELL YOU that , had you, or virtually ANYONE ever met her, you would have not believed any of what I’m telling you, because she was always “on” (even around me!!!)… and THAT is one of the main reasons WHY we fall for this sort of emotional manipulation/abuse: it’s so gradual, subtle, and insidious, that we don’t even realize it’s even happening as it’s happening, amazingly, we often don’t even view it as “abuse”, and the very best emotional abusers/manipulators will lull you into making it look like it’s all quite normal!
Never again!
… and 100% responsible for MY OWN happiness!
… life is WONDERFUL!
thanks AGAIN for your wonderful site, Dr. Tara !!!!
OMG! Sorry!… I MEANT to say that your website goes a long way towards EXPOSING this sort of maladaptive sexist behavior among women as well as men for what it is!!! …MY error! … & my sincerest apologies… :)
WOW selfaware !! Are you sure that she isnt the same woman i was involved with for 4 yrs? Sounds just like her . She was allways on and so calm and lovely that nobody and I mean nobody would have ever guessed she was manipulating me to remodle her house for the poor poor woman who couldnt afford it.She would make up stories how a guy asked her out , had gone on dates with men all kinds of crap that were al lies. Yes and all her ex boyfriends just were goo goo for her too. How men would ask for hugs . Gee I wonder why ? She had a 36 D chest ! Hmm let me think?? I didnt mind at all at first I thought she was stable but WOW ! this woman was doing me , her ex husband and the contracter who built my house, ( who was an old friend of hers) all at the same time within a weeks time !! And get this….She was Teaching RELIGION classes to kids at the time this was happening !! WOW Talk about a cover!! Nobody would ever suspect sweet little Sarah (name changed by Dr Tara) of being this way. (edited for language by Dr Tara)
Just a reminder not to use defamatory gender language here. It borders on woman bashing and I’m not okay with that—just like I’m not okay with man bashing.
Thanks,
Dr Tara
Nope, NOT the same person… not even close…
As far as her consistently off-handedly mentioning exes and being hit on all the time… it was brought up by her in such a way that she expressed DISGUST about it… ie. “why are men like that, & why won’t they take NO for an answer, etc.” She more often than not spoke of her past exes in a negative light,too, although she’d ocassionally hold them up to me as an example of how I “should know how to act” when it suited her (double standards, ugh!)… She just wanted to drop the hint that she was ALWAYS being pursued, and her method was the PERFECT way to be able to imply it & simultaneously make it look as if she was “sharing” & “confiding” in me… Thankfully, I saw it eventually for what it was, & I cut things off (cold turkey & NO contact) after “only” 8 months, although she HAS emailed me & “accidentally” text messaged me since then… (even recently)… IGNORE IT !!!
& while it’s absolutely possible, of course, that she DID cheat on me, I somehow suspect that she didn’t, ONLY because if we weren’t joined at the hip 24/7 she’d either text/call me 15-20 times a day (not exaggerating about that, btw…)or stay @ my place or I’d be at her’s…
If we learn to understand that people (men AND women) act like this out of extreme neediness & anxiety about THEMSELVES towards us (ie. THEIR biggest fear is one of inadequacy/inferiority about themselves & themselves being in a relationship with US), it helps greatly for us to start the healing process & move on…
sorry about the language Dr maybe got a little carried away !
My ex made the same types of manipulating comments all the time. How guys were always hitting on her, how she had always been able to get guys to do whatever she wanted for her, even telling me that guys would try to talk her into leaving me for them. I thought I didn’t mind when she said these things at the time but I was in denial. Because I let her get away with saying these types of things it only led her to become more using and manipulative. I didn’t know how to create and uphold boundaries – for myself. If I was in a similar situation again I’d maintain my dignity and leave. At least I know that now.
Hi Jim,
These women love to rub your nose in their relationship history with exes who they keep on a string to make you feel threatened and jealous. This is incredibly hurtful behavior and serves to keep you on permanent notice, “You’d better do as I say and treat me like the princess (aka royal pain in the ass) that I am or you’ll be replaced.”
My advice is when they start talking this way, ignore the initial pang in your stomach and try to see it for the manipulation that it is. Then, if you really want to freak her out, say something like, “Gosh, honey, he sounds great. Would you like me to step aside so you can be together?” She’ll probably blink a few times and then get nasty, but it’d almost be worth it.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Hi self-awareness,
Thanks for the positive feedback. It’s very kind of you.
The types of behavior you describe are a form of covert abuse, which is far more subtle and insidious. Although, many of these women alternate between both forms of abuse. No matter whether they’re more covert or overt abusers doesn’t really matter; both are toxic and draining.
Congratulations on recognizing your ex-s behaviors for what they are and getting out.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
this web site has open my eyes to something that i refused to see for 4 years and gave me the strength that i neded to end this relationship that was sucking my soul out of my body and was killing me little by little. to the creators of this site and to all of you who have shared your experiences with everybody else on your comments, thank you so much. God bless you.
Hi Franky,
Thanks for the positive feedback. I’m glad you’ve found my site helpful and best wishes to you in breaking free of your abuser. Making the decision to end the relationship is usually the most difficult step. Your next task will to remain strong and centered once the narcissistic rage explodes in response to you breaking up with her.
Surround yourself with friends and family and hang on; you will get through this.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Dr T,
This website rocks!!! I, like many I am reading here, felt like I was alone in this ordeal of being with a demanding, critical, raging, manipulative, conniving, etc etc etc …but ONLY in private making me feel like crap.
It can’t be a healthy relationship when you are coming home from work and make detours and u-turns just to NOT go home to walk on the eggshells again. The dishes are never clean enough …the yard work is always wrong …the bizarre (sometimes scary) rages …the never-ending emotional roller coaster …how is it MY fault that her life hasn’t met her expectations, meanwhile I’m successful in my own career and have many friends and a great family (that she was always threatened by). She has sucked a part of my soul away, but I’ve found it again …
Prior to finding this site, in my own personal therapy sessions 2 weeks ago – I discovered she has BPD. Fits the bill to a tee and it’s like a light bulb has gone off in my head. I can now see it.
I’ve got myself back and it’s time to move on. I’ve made the choice to be HAPPY again. It feels good and empowering but it is very difficult to process after a 17 year relationship.
Thanks for the support. I’ll visit often.
CLR
Hi Dr. Tara
Just wanted to let you know that I am still in the process of ending a 11 year relationship with a BPD. It has taken all the energy, meditation, exercise and Toltec strength to keep myself from exploding. We are only Domestic Partners and this is the most expensive divorce ever. $35,000, 10 months and counting. Her own lawyer fears her. She never agrees to anything and her responses to my filed motions are hilarious. Talk about everything you mention in this website she actually puts it down in legal paper and attests to the lies. Maybe I should send a few to post.
We have a child together that I had and of course. I was always trying to think of ways to make her feel secure so I actually had her officially adopted to put her name on the Birth Certificate. So now my poor baby is feeling the wrath. It has taken me all 10 months to get a new lawyer just to take her to task to get my daughter in the counseling she desperately needs. And now I trying to change the custody which is very costly.
My new girlfriend has a mother with BPD and she recognized the traits and was actually the first person to tell me what I was dealing with. She just found your website and told me about it. I wish I knew about you and this site many months ago, you are so correct and such a wonderful asset to the world thank you for what you have done here. I will continue to read and take advice from this website.
Thanks again
rr4peace
Hi Dr. Tara,
I want to tell you how valuable your website is. You definitely make the world a better place! Behind all of your excellent articles-not only are very unique insights, but also your depth and compassion as a helpful, loving human being.
Cool Breeze
Thanks Cool Breeze. It’s very kind of you to say so. I’m touched.
Kind Regards,
Dr Tara
Was interested on your thoughts about men who are raised with BPD/Narcissistic mothers.
I am reading through your articles, so am sorry if you already address this and I missed in it the Index of articles.
This is helpful for finding posts I want to read again. Thanks!
Me, too!
Nice feature.
Thanks, JP.