Narcissistic Bridezillas–Honor Your Boundaries

Brideszillas are here to stay in our current narcissistic culture. Their tyrannical hold on entire families causes emotional chaos, disruption and psychological pain. From the smallest detail to the grand delusional vision of their royal role as “Bride” and Queen they are controlling and manipulative to the max.

Before the wedding you can know that you are dealing with one of these highly pathological individuals. Their level of civility and manners is thin and transparent. The smile is forced. The unblinking eyes tell you: “I am in command. You must do what exactly what I want or else.”

Narcissistic bridezillas or not–Learn to practice self care. You might not have had anyone in your life who helped you to internalize a sense of entitlement to deep inner peace, to respect your thoughts and feelings, to treat yourself with gentle kindness. It is essential that we admit when we are wrong but to not continue to castigate ourselves. Learning to appreciate your individuality and your unique gifts is one of the most important realizations of your life. Part of self care is getting rest and sleep,having downtime when you can use your imagination, go deeply into the music you love, write spontaneously, dance and sing to music and do anything that brings you joy. Sometimes the smallest acts are the most profound from hugging our pets to speaking to friendly strangers, to covering ourselves with a favorite sweater or blanket.

If the narcissistic bride to be is part of your family, this is a special challenge. First, you cannot control the decision the couple has made to become wed. You can take charge of your internal and external behavior. Knowing who this woman really is will help you all along the way. Do not spend time with her completely alone if you can avoid it. When we are solo with any narcissistic personality, they find this opportunity to assault us with their negative primitive projections. Make every effort to stay out of that orbit. You don’t deserve this kind of treatment; it is not about you. This is her psychopathology.

You are growing and becoming whole each day. Honor yourself and appreciate your authenticity.

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.

 

Come Back from the Brink–Separating from Narcissistic Husband

Those who have been married to a narcissistic husband for a few years are beginning to feel the psychopathology of these individuals more keenly each day. You may still be fooling yourself and that happens to so many people, but the chinks of light are finally coming into your eyes. You are feeling the psychological stings and blows of being married to someone who expects you to be perfect, who constantly lies to you, who is likely to have another relationship going although he is married to you, who is secretly paranoid, who is filled with envy when you are successful, who goes into infernal fits of rage over the tiniest matters and who completely lacks empathy. Slowly you are wearing down and after decades with this man, you feel literally sick of this arrangement. He is the Taker; you are always the Giver and it is never enough for him.

Bring yourself back from the brink. Acknowledge that you are married to a serious character disordered personality who cannot and will not change. You will never be treated with respect or be able to lead your own life. Understand the narcissist’s true nature and you will bring yourself back from the Brink. When you do, congratulate yourself. You now feel entitled to lead your own life, form healthy relationships and pursue your dreams and develop your creative gifts to the fullest.

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.

Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Narcissistic Sociopathic Spiritual Teachers Cause Psychological Harm

Narcissistic sociopaths, especially “spiritual teachers” are among the most cunning, compelling and psychologically corrosive individuals. Many of them build large movements. Some of them develop into cults that involve mind control. The leader is often highly attractive in every way: physically, intellectually, has tremendous charisma, even psychic powers. They have command of themselves and know how to determine if a person is “ripe” to be brainwashed into their movement or special community. There are spiritual groups that are very sincere and have a high consciousness. I am talking about the newly imaged, hip, smart bearer of truth, insights and epiphanies. They are often announced with great fanfare. There closest devotees treat them with reverence. Their eyes glow with true believer allegiance. They smile their ways through the perfect trance of their newest delusion—the belief that their leader is divine. They are hooked and fused with this person. Many have paid thousands of dollars numerous times to attend weekend retreats with their holy teacher. They don’t blink an eye at the expense they are in such a state of bliss. Some sociopathic spiritual teachers present themselves in an ego dropped, simple manner–just plain old me. Don’t be fooled. This is a convincing act that can be irresistible to many who are spiritual seekers and feel that something vital is missing in their lives. While many people look to spiritual individuals in times of need, others seek help in the form of psychic readings from professional mediums. However, many psychic mediums do not give their clients a great look into the divine that they are hoping for. That is why it is important to check out some of the Best Online Psychic Readings before deciding which medium to go to. Comparatively, seeking mentoring from ‘spiritual teachers’ can often be damaging for individuals who are often used by the narcissist to get what they want.

Those who become deeply involved with the sociopathic spiritual teacher lose themselves and their identities chasing after the empty promises of this very disturbed individual. The psychological fusion that the devotee has with the “teacher” is very unhealthy. A deep dependency can develop and the person is unable to dis-identify from this person whom he views as savior. When the member finally leaves the group, he or she is psychologically damaged and financially compromised. Some members sign over their valuable possessions to these sociopathic leaders. After leaving the cult or sociopathic spiritual leader it is essential that the person receive highly skilled psychotherapy to help them sever their relationships and dependence on this person.

There are certain red flags that will tell you if a “spiritual sociopathic teacher” is in your midst. Ask yourself what is the money motive. Are they charging inordinate amounts of money? Are they insist that you return for the next group of sessions to get to a higher level? Is the teacher highly grandiose and making impossible promises about your healing and divine gifts that you will automatically receive if you sign up. Do they isolate people who attend their retreats so that they become more emotionally vulnerable. If you don’t go along with their program, are you shunned or verbally criticized and humiliated. How much money is changing hands.I say always follow the money. True spiritual teachers are not focused on money but on helping you reach higher consciousness, deep mental focus, a strong sense of inner peace and deep empathy.

Pay close attention to you intuition and it will always tell you if you are dealing with a narcissistic sociopathic spiritual teacher.


Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Don’t Blame Yourself for Your Narcissistic Parents

Some victims of narcissistic parents–mother or father or both, blame themselves for not being perfect. They live the guilt of not meeting their parents’ expectations. These demands and expectations on the part of narcissistic parents are delusional. Even if you had reached perfection by their standards it would never have satisfied them. As the child of a narcissistic mother or father you remember that making your greatest efforts to satisfy their demands and wishes was never enough. You were criticized, demeaned and humiliated. Even when you had straight A’s in school they chided you for not participating in enough extracurricular activities or being alone. It was always something. They would always finding a way of pulling you down.

Many victims of narcissistic parents still feel haunted by feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness as a result of innumerable verbal assaults on them as children and adults. Some of these adult children make the decision to sever their relationship from the narcissistic parent. They cannot and will no longer tolerate this level of verbal abuse and their collusion with other relatives to ruin your reputation with others.

You have a unique individual life that belongs to you–You are many talents and gifts that you can use to enrich your life. You have opportunities for loving relationships with those who will care deeply about you and love you for yourself. Think about this—You can be free. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Narcissistic Parents Sabotage Their Children

By definition sabotage is a “treacherous action.” Treachery when perpetrated upon a family member means destruction and annihilation. It is beyond ruthlessness.

Growing up in a narcissistic family is like being in the middle of a deadly fire fight twenty four hours a day. The child who survives these skirmishes and all out wars is truly remarkable. I hear and read life stories of those who found survival techniques. Many of them hid in their own hoes, spent time with friends to keep out of the war zone, slipped their minds away into books, video games, drawing, writing, other creative activities. Some children were fortunate to have a grand parent who would give them times of respite.

Some children who have this experience are in a constant state of anxiety–fight or flight syndrome.The narcissist–mother or father or both rule the household. Screams and demands–slaps and threats can be heard and experienced frequently in these homes. The narcissist lives for himself (herself) alone. Narcissists don’t love their children. They use them to prop up their egos if they perceive that a particular child can add to their perfect image. In this case the child is indulged. The rest of the kids are cast aside and neglected or treated abysmally. Some of these children find ingenious ways to save their sense of self, to conceal their creative gifts but continue to use them and to keep the inner fire of a sense of self burning brightly. I have known individuals who have been able to accomplish this despite all of the narcissistic pathology of their mother or father or both parents.

Adult children continue to heal through skilled psychotherapy and many forms of bringing the body/mind back into balance: gentle yoga, meditation, support groups, full use of your creativity. You can heal. You will heal. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.

Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife

Children of Narcissists Have a Right to Heal

So many adult children of narcissistic mothers and/or fathers hold on to their suffering—not on purpose but unconsciously because that has been their reality all of their lives. From the time they could barely walk and talk they were psychologically bruised and bloodied by the narcissistic parent. Every day there was a new accusation, a criticism that cut through to the bone, a smirk that said: “You are worthless; I wish you had never been born.” “Why can’t you be like your brilliant older sister who gets all A’s.” “You have an uneven nose and thin lips. We’ll have to take you to a plastic surgeon later on so you don’t embarrass the family.”

“Sometimes you smell; it disgusts me.” And on and on—an endless road of insults that wound the heart and shake the nerves. Yet you have survived this gulag of abuse. That is a great accomplishment and you have done it with you humanity intact.

Know that you have a right to heal—-completely. You can disengage yourself from all of the cruel, malicious blows of your narcissistic parent. You don’t have to carry these burdens any longer. Begin by recognizing that although you share the DNA of your narcissistic parent, you are a separate individual. You are entitled to develop all of your talents and gifts fully. You are entitled to feel a deep inner peace and a love for yourself. You are entitled to be healthy in body, mind and spirit. You have a separate life that is precious. You are entitled to resurrect your humor, the sing when you feel happy, to embrace others, to be spontaneous, to live fully in this moment. Some children of narcissistic parents benefit from psychotherapy.Do the research and make sure that your therapist is highly trained, devoted to her/his clients and very empathic. Make sure you don’t sense a money motive and especially check it out to rule out a narcissistic psychotherapist. They are out there, victimizing vulnerable clients. There are many healing pathways. Find the ones that work for you–gentle yoga, meditation, support groups, creative endeavors that put you in touch with the unlimited use of your imagination. Some form of exercise is very valuable in keeping your body strong, your nerves quiet and your mind clear. Become aware of the precious moment: the tiny sound of the hummingbird over your head–greeting you, the wind wafting through your nostrils, the full smile of a happy baby, the warm hug of a friend, the moon at night darting in and out of the clouds. the lake of stars above like a diamond tiara—-endless moments of beauty. You can and will heal. To learn about the narcissistic personality, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.

Telephone Consultation: United States and International

Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Narcissistic Father-Running Off with Daughter’s Girlfriend

Narcissists have no limits–moral, ethical, legal—They are indecent human beings on many levels. If you have a narcissistic parent you know how outrageous they will be. They have no shame. I have known of a number of instances in which the narcissist’s daughter had a close friend who was like part of the family. The young adult daughter of the narcissist was shocked to find out that her father was making passes at her best friend. She kept telling herself this couldn’t be happening. She idealized her father and thought of her mother as weak, an appendage of her father. She was unable to stand up for herself. When college time came father and mother divorced. Dad soon began dating, often seeing a couple of women in one evening. Alice (let’s call her) was shocked by her dad’s behavior. He was acting like a teenager. In walks Alice’s childhood friend, Gina for a college break. Alice feels the sparks fly and the chemistry stir between this man she calls dad and her best friend. Alice notices that Gina is becoming secretive with her. On a particular evening she discovers her father upstairs with her friend Gina in a compromising scene in the master bedroom. Alice is stunned. She can’t believe it. Her father announces that he and Gina love one another, have for some time and are planning to get married in the very near future. That is exactly what happens. Alice can barely tolerate getting through the ceremonies. She is humiliated and feels deeply betrayed. She has lost her father and best friend. This man she has known as an absentee workaholic dad is the husband of a young woman who is thirty years younger than his daughter. To make matters more painful, Gina was pregnant before the wedding and will soon deliver a half brother or sister to Alice. She is devastated. Alice gets a lot of benefit from excellent psychotherapy. She recognizes that her father is a narcissist who was never capable of loving anyone, who doesn’t have any psychological boundaries, who goes after what he wants, no matter whom it hurts, including his own daughter.

Alice severs her non-relationship with this man she called dad and her previous friend and current wife.

Working very hard with skilled psychotherapy and the support of close friends, Alice heals, moves through her grief of never having a real dad and is able to put her own life together. This takes time, patience and courage. She renews her relationship with her mother and forgives her for not being strong enough to stand up for herself. Alice is renewing her life on her own terms. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.

Telephone Consultation: United States and International

Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life

Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Narcissistic Husbands Juggle Sexual Partners

Narcissistic husbands are masters at creating the image of the dutiful spouse. They are very convincing on the subject of loyalty to their spouses. The majority of narcissistic husbands stray all of the time. In fact they have multiple affairs going strong at any given time. Some are one night stands; others are mistresses that go in and out of their lives. There are special women that they can’t resist and keep as a sexual security blanket just in case they need to get through the night of their sexual desires. This could be due to the wife not satisfying the narcissist’s desires, so instead they seek out other women that could be into the same fetishes or sexual acts that he is, for example, the narcissistic husband may visit another woman so he can pull the strings on the sex swing he only keeps for specific sexual partners. It is amazing how adept these fellows become at juggling many women. If they travel as a result of their business, the sky is the limit. One or two women a night is not unusual. You’d think some nights they’d just take it easy and tune it to babestation.tv/girls and watch some action unfold on there. Some professional men including narcissistic physicians, dentists, corporate leaders have ongoing affairs with their female patients. Sex in the office–no problem. It’s after hours–why worry. There are many narcissistic physicians. Our society rewards them with big money, prestige, even worship. Obviously, there are incredibly fine physicians who are completely ethical and professional. I am not speaking about them.

If you think your narcissistic husband is playing around on you, why would you stay married. These days it is dangerous to your physical health. Think of the cascade of stds you can contract as a result of having sex with a husband who is having intimate relations with so many different women. When you have sex with this husband, you are having sex with every woman he has shagged. Not a pretty picture. Self care is essential. The next factor is your psychological and emotional health and what is the effect of this kind of marital arrangement on your children. Marriages with narcissistic men don’t work because these men are highly pathological and do not change.

Make a wise decision. Sever the relationship. Consider a formal separation and a divorce. This can be a difficult process. You are entitled to be married to someone who truly loves and protects you. Part of your healing can be facilitated by excellent psychotherapy. Be sure you interview several psychotherapists.

Get support from those you trust and can call upon at any time. There are many healing techniques like gentle yoga, meditation, and creative pursuits that can become an integral part of your healing. Be kind to yourself. Anyone can make the decision to marry a narcissist. They are slippery fellows, difficult to detect. Learn from this life experience and be grateful that you are taking assertive movement toward your personal evolution. Learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth. Visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Children of Narcissistic Parents-Moving Beyond Your Personal History

I receive some of the most painful and touching communications from children of a narcissistic mother or father. In some cases, these individuals were surrounded by narcissistic family members, including parents and several narcissistic siblings. I hear from adult scapegoated children who were grew up with golden child siblings. There life stories are emotionally wrenching. The cruelties perpetrated on them were chronic and unmerciful. While the narcissistic parent constantly made outrageous demands on the non-narcissistic child, she/he picked one or two other children in the family who were found to be superior, unblemished almost godlike. The scapegoated child was constantly humiliated and treated as an inferior person. Unrelenting cruelties and verbal and in some instances physical abuse were thrust upon these children.

In many cases the narcissist parent was an instigator in turning her budding narcissistic children against the victimized son or daughter whom she viewed as second rate and defective. All of the mother’s/father’s primitive aggressive projections were projected upon these targeted children. Many courageously learned to survive in creative ways. Some scapegoated children become hermits within their own home and play the role of being invisible. They are frequently left to their own devices, unprotected by the narcissistic parent, learn how to fend for themselves. Some of these children are already living on their own before the age of eighteen. I have known of children who have left theses homes of horror before legal age in order to be free from the constant taunting, cruel games, harsh criticisms and constant fear and anxiety.

The narcissist is never going to change regardless of your hopes, wishes, sacrifices, kindnesses. These are losing propositions when dealing with a narcissistic parents.

Those who free themselves from narcissistic parents build a life that is beyond their personal history. This is challenging, takes perseverance and unrelenting purpose and focus. You are not your narcissistic parent. You are a unique human being of great value. It is not your fault that your narcissistic parent has a severe personality disorder, is cruel and deceptive and has attempted continuously and purposely to disrupt, interrupt and devalue your life. Those who free themselves form narcissistic parents, find friends whom they can trust. Another route is to establish a practice of stillness in the form of meditation, gentle yoga or other modality. By consistently practicing these forms of stilling the mind, we communicate with the part of ourselves that cannot be touched or harmed by our early traumatic conditioning. These practices can fit into a spiritual belief used in a non-spiritual purpose to improve and steady our nervous systems, increase our focus and concentration. Many benefit from high quality psychotherapy.

Getting in touch with the innermost parts of yourself where you will find peace and acceptance is well worth the consistent practice that it takes. When we learn to separate and individuate out of our family of origin we have begun to see ourselves as we are, using our own lens, writing our own unique history. We are a work in progress throughout our lives. Each day we have a new opportunity to become more authentic, to activate our creative gifts, to fulfill our many potentials, to practice giving and receiving love and affection. Visit my website:www.thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Buy the Book:
amazon.com and amazon kindle edition
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Children of Narcissists-Exposing their Narcissistic Parents

I hear from adult children of narcissists. Their stories are painful and long, often overshadowing entire decades of their lives. Children of narcissists carry guilt about not being “good enough” and living up to parental expectations. If your parent is a narcissist there is nothing on earth you can do to please him/her if you are not the chosen one, that special sibling the narcissistic mother or father picks to be the star and icon for the entire family.

At the end of a very long road there are adult children who finally cannot tolerate the verbal abuse, accusations, emotional coldness and all out rejection and pernicious psychological projection and evil revenge—-They must speak the truth. I hear from them and read about it in many blogs. Some have been sent packing, losing everything, including material possessions, opportunities to be secure financially and to be part of a family.

Narcissistic families are not families at all. They are business arrangements negotiated by the narcissist to benefit him/her alone or a favorite of his. This is why it would be helpful to have legal support when dealing with these ‘business negotiations’. Talking to lawyers similar to Eatons Solicitors can provide some insight into how to legally deal with a narcissistic family. The matriarch or patriarch of the family makes all the rules. He or she comes first, even if that is psychologically devastating to other family members. Some narcissistic parents bring in people who are not family members and “adopt” them because they are very attractive, bright, creatively gifted and venerate the narcissist and know just how to play up their egos. In some cases the father or mother will eventually “dump” the other spouse and develop a romantic relationship with this once outsider and marry him or her. You can imagine the horrendous emotional upheaval this kind of irresponsible and callous behavior causes the narcissist’s children. Can you see the wedding party–the young bride who is a decade younger than the narcissist’s children, who was picked to supersede them and in some cases will inherit everything the narcissist owns. I have witnessed these scenes and they are distressing and ignominious.

These atrocious behaviors are occurring more often than most people can imagine. If you are the adult child of a narcissistic parent, learn to identify this fixed personality disorder by study and research. Protect yourself from their venomous projections. You may have to go no contact. This is very difficult for many adult children. You cannot change the narcissist—this is a severe fixed disorder that usually had its beginnings in early childhood. Focus on your own self entitlement–your right to think in freedom, the express your feelings, to appreciate your authenticity, to maintain your physical and psychological health and to continue to grow as a valued individual. To learn about every facet of the narcissistic personality, visit my website:www.thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life.
Buy the book: amazon.com and amazon kindle edition
Email: lmlphd@thenarcissistinyourlife.com