The Narcissistic Abuse & Trauma Recovery Podcast is to help women thrive after the devastating effects from the trauma of narcissistic abuse. Hosted by Caroline Strawson, best-selling author, speaker and award-winning Trauma Therapist & Coach and founder of the #1 Trauma Informed Narcissistic Trauma Recovery Programme using a unique integration of tools such as Internal Family Systems, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Hypnotherapy, Breath Work & Positive Psychology to help you move form Post Traumatic Stress To Post Traumatic Growth. The podcast is your safe space for support, education and awareness around gaslighting, trauma bonds, codependency, complex PTSD and surviving narcissistic abuse to thrive and flourish. This is your safe space where we understand anger, toxicity and the guilt you can feel from the narcissist and this podcast is designed to take you from trauma, struggle and pain to transformation, purpose & strength. You are not alone and we heal together.
In this episode, I dive into the word “narcissist” and why it’s such a hot topic. It can be tough to talk about our experiences with narcissistic abuse because some people may shrug it off and say we’re unfairly labelling someone. I’ll explore why this is the case and how it impacts those of us who are suffering.
What you will learn in this episode:
- The flaws in diagnosing narcissistic personality disorder
- How to prioritize safety and well-being in abusive situations
- Why using the label “narcissist” has become divisive
I’ll discuss the official process of diagnosing someone with narcissistic personality disorder and why it’s severely flawed. It’s essential to note that just because someone isn’t diagnosed with NPD it doesn’t mean they can’t still exhibit abusive behavior. Abuse is abuse, and it’s never okay. Whether your partner has been diagnosed or not, it’s crucial to prioritize your safety and well-being. Even if those around you don’t believe you, know that your experience is valid, and you deserve to be safe. I hope this episode will provide insight and support for those of you who may be struggling with narcissistic abuse.
Resources:
- Join my FREE Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thriveafternarcissisticabuse
- Access my low cost Narcissistic Trauma Recovery Programme https://go.carolinestrawson.com/heal-the-trauma-of-narcissistic-abuse
- Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinestrawson/
- Find me on TikTok!: https://www.tiktok.com/@carolinestrawson
- My website: https://www.carolinestrawson.com/
Narcissistic abuse isn’t just some bad breakup or somebody being mean to you. This is actual trauma. In this episode I want to explain what exactly trauma is, and I want to educate you on what exactly narcissistic abuse is.
What You Will Learn In This Episode:
The definition of trauma
Why narcissistic abuse is trauma
The 4 trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze and fawn
Why our perception is key in triggering trauma response
The origins of trauma responses
What codependency is
How to start healing the trauma
Although narcissistic abuse is trauma, it doesn’t need to define you. I want to help you find meaning in it, so you can go on and not just heal your trauma, but you can actually thrive after narcissistic abuse.
Resources:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thriveafternarcissisticabuse
Audiogram:
2:59-4:08
If you’ve had lots of stressors in your life, so for instance, like I said, maybe you had a really traumatic birth, maybe you were born premature. Maybe your mother was in an abusive relationship. Maybe as a child, there was neglect. Maybe there was abuse, maybe there was a lack of emotion, maybe from one or both of your parents, these are all going to be stressors to you. And these are going to be like these beach balls that are coming into your swimming pool. And you imagine if you’ve got lots of beach balls coming into your swimming pool, at some stage, that capacity is going to start to build tight, it’s going to feel full, and it can feel overwhelming. And this is when it starts to tip into us being in trauma. Because if you were abused as a child, that’s going to be a great big, massive, massive beach ball going into your swimming pool, so that coping capacity, it’s not going to beat that. It’s going to be overwhelming to your system. This is what trauma is. It’s simply overwhelm to your system, which is why we can never judge anybody else on how they are coping, because we don’t know how many beach balls they’ve got in their swimming pool, we don’t know what’s happened to them in their past.
