The Adventures of Dan and Tina
Narcissistic abuse and recovery explored and explained through a true first-person narrative.
| Narcissists Stir the Pot for Two Common Effects: Supply and Control | Narcissistic individuals live to manipulate and extract “narcissistic supply” from others. They are masters at playing mind games, exploiting vulnerabilities, and creating drama to achieve their objectives. In order to better understand how narcissists “stir the pot” to manipulate and extract narcissistic supply, let’s first look at
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| Isolated podcast: Bringing to Light Male Victims of Domestic Abuse – Men can be Victims, Too! | The Adventures of Dan and Tina book and blog were featured in an interview with author Dan McGrath on the Isolated Podcast. Check it out and learn more about male victims of abuse with multiple podcast episodes examining different cases and elements
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| Getting at the Heart of Narcissistic Abuse | Escaping an abusive relationship with a narcissist requires some degree of understanding. Physically removing oneself from the situation is an important first step, but the trauma bond will keep a victim psychologically and emotionally trapped in the relationship until he or she understands what actually happened and why. A painful first
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| Healing After Narcissistic Abuse Takes more than Time, Alone | Updated | People who have been subjected to narcissistic abuse may suffer long-lasting symptoms that adversely affect quality of life afterwards. The cluster of symptoms commonly associated with narcissistic abuse could be diagnosed as Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) or Narcissistic Abuse Syndrome. I use narcissistic abuse here
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Do you want to understand a narcissistic relationship? Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is often underestimated and misunderstood as arrogance or simple self-absorption – because of how it’s depicted in TV shows and movies. But the real condition – and its consequences – are much more insidious. Histrionic, borderline or narcissistic, the fallout from a relationship with a cluster B personality
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| What is a Trauma Bond? | Becoming Addicted to one’s Abuser | What is a trauma bond? This article examines how love-bombing, triangulation, intermittent reinforcement, ghosting and hoovering create a powerful addiction to one’s abuser Narcissists (and other emotional abusers) rely on manipulation of primal emotions, love and fear to hook their victims. A rudimentary study of psychology introduces
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Michael Sunset’s book, A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Manipulate is a raw memoir relating how he was systematically manipulated by his ex-wife, her father and his own mother and sister to believe he had a mental illness. It’s a classic tale of gaslighting, reminiscent of the namesake film Gas Light that spawned the psychological term. His ex-wife deftly
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It was just a week after “Nategate,” I was barely moved in to the apartment and even though I was still committed to making things work, Tina and I were not really on solid ground. I was working on setting up counseling for us, but Tina had made plans with Amber months in advance to go to Rock Fest –
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Unstable, on-again, off-again relationships are a hallmark of Cluster B disorders, like borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. On-again, off-again relationships can be terribly damaging and often, they can be the result of a prolonged, repeated pattern of narcissistic abuse. Narcissists tend to target very empathetic and conscientious people, because they can mistreat them longer, with less chance of them leaving.
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I initially guessed the footprints that appeared on my van windows must have been a prank by Maura on her way to work in the morning. “Cute, Maura. Weirdo. That was baffling at first,” I texted Maura when I discovered them. I was getting ready for work myself and had stepped outside to have a cigarette in the morning sun.
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