The Overwhelmed Brain

Emotional Intelligence for Critical Thinkers

The abuse victim’s perspective – Step-parents and step-children – When honoring yourself leads to loneliness

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The abuse victim’s perspective – Step-parents and step-children – When honoring yourself leads to loneliness
The abuse victim’s perspective – Step-parents and step-children – When honoring yourself leads to loneliness
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The abuse victim’s perspective – Step-parents and step-children – When honoring yourself leads to loneliness
November 5, 2017
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Why don’t abuse victims leave the relationship? The world can look at someone who is clearly being abused by their partner and say things like, “Why don’t you just leave?” But the abuse victim’s reality is a lot different from those who’ve not experienced what it’s like to have an abused mind.

Their perceptions and beliefs about the world are entirely different than ours so leaving isn’t the easy path others make it out to be. Segment 1 is all about the perspective of the abuse victim and why it’s not as easy to leave the abuser as it may appear to others.

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The no-win conversation – Lashing out at others – Blame the cheater not yourself

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The no-win conversation – Lashing out at others – Blame the cheater not yourself
The no-win conversation – Lashing out at others – Blame the cheater not yourself
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The no-win conversation – Lashing out at others – Blame the cheater not yourself
September 10, 2017
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Does your partner corner you into a no-win situation? Do they ask you questions that make you wrong no matter what you say?

In the first segment, I talk about double binds in relationships and a couple of ways to get out of the no-win questioning that often happens in both non-abusive and abusive relationships.

For segment 2, I discuss lashing out and where it comes from. Are they new emotions that seem to originate in the moment or are they old, stored emotions that derived from a single point in time?

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Feeling Unworthy by Comparison – Your Partner’s Controlling Parent – Breakdown of Narcissism – Recycling Dysfunction

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Feeling Unworthy by Comparison – Your Partner’s Controlling Parent – Breakdown of Narcissism – Recycling Dysfunction
Feeling Unworthy by Comparison – Your Partner’s Controlling Parent – Breakdown of Narcissism – Recycling Dysfunction
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Feeling Unworthy by Comparison – Your Partner’s Controlling Parent – Breakdown of Narcissism – Recycling Dysfunction
July 9, 2017
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Comparing yourself to other people is the fastest way to low self-worth and low self-esteem.

Why do we always compare ourselves to people that are better looking, wealthier, healthier, and have more success in areas of life that we are still working on? It seems like a black hole of misery that will never end.

In segment one, I talk about one of my good friends who is self-employed and wondering why she isn’t succeeding after a few months of what I see has been a very successful time for her. She is comparing her success to those that have been in the business for a long time and that comparison is making her feel down.

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Rekindling with toxic family – The long-term results of honoring yourself – Even the victim plays a role – Contact or no contact your ex

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Rekindling with toxic family – The long-term results of honoring yourself – Even the victim plays a role – Contact or no contact your ex
Rekindling with toxic family – The long-term results of honoring yourself – Even the victim plays a role – Contact or no contact your ex
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Rekindling with toxic family – The long-term results of honoring yourself – Even the victim plays a role – Contact or no contact your ex
June 18, 2017
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How do you go about rekindling with toxic and/or dysfunctional family members? Is it worth “going home” and starting up those old, dysfunctional, family get-togethers again?

Is it possible to avoid the toxicity of a dysfunctional family past? There is a way to return to a toxic family environment but it’s going to take some courage to be the person you want to be with the people that have always known you the way you were. I talk about that and more in segment one.

In segment two, I read a message from someone who shares what it’s like honoring yourself. Joshua says that he’s been taking steps to stand up for himself and express his truths to people that he never has before. He is showing up as that authentic person he’s always wanted to be and things are happening for him in a way that never has.

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Transforming the Emotionally Abusive Relationship

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When I was first getting to know my partner, she told me about her relationship with her ex. She said that they were the best of friends, so it only made sense that developing that friendship into a romantic relationship would enhance what they had and bring them even closer.

After several years of emotional abuse and a bitter divorce, she left that relationship a shell of her former self.

Emotionally abusive people know exactly how to be a good friend. They show up when you need them. They say all the right things. They appear to be genuinely kind and generous to you and the rest of the world.

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