The Adventures of Dan and Tina
Narcissistic abuse and recovery explored and explained through a true first-person narrative.
What is Gaslighting and how does it Affect a Victim of Narcissistic Abuse? Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse that is used to disorient and control a victim. It involves the manipulation of reality, causing the victim to question their own sanity and perception of events. Gaslighting is a particularly insidious form of abuse because it is subtle and
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What is Cognitive Dissonance and how does it Happen in Narcissistic Relationships? Have you ever suffered from hearing two completely different songs played at the same time? The disharmony of sounds is called dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term used to describe the mental discomfort people feel when they hold two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. It
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| 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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