“If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? – George Carlin

"Children of the Self-Absorbed" by Nina W. Brown and "Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers" by Karyl McBride, Ph.D., are two impactful books that delve into the intricate dynamics of families damaged by narcissism….

They specifically focus on the heart-breaking experiences of children raised by self-absorbed or narcissistic parents.

Humans who are high in narcissism are not particularly picky when it comes to how they attack others.

That’s a highly important finding now that we live in an online world…

Women who were abused as children in their families of origin were more satisfied with their current abusive relationships than women who were not abused in childhood…

What if humans with childhood abuse histories are more satisfied in their abusive relationships because they have greater tolerance for abuse based on early life experiences, and resulting diminished expectations?

“Injunctions to ‘‘think positively’’ are pervasive in North America.

Self-help books, television shows, and loved ones advise thinking positively when one faces a challenge or is unhappy.

Yet research continually indicates that, for certain people, positive self-statements may be not only ineffective, but actually detrimental.” (Wood et al., 2009).

Here’s some breaking research about how a couple might acquire a penchant toward domestic violence.

In this post, I’ll discuss 7 specific warning signs.

In other words, the more likely you are to experience these 7 signs, the more likely domestic violence becomes…

Humans with binge eating disorders in this study had lower sensitivity to dopamine, often known as the ‘pleasure chemical’.

This lower sensitivity may result from too much indulgence, which is caused by habit circuitry gone awry.

Awe thoroughly brings us into the present moment, and then expands that moment while installing a profound sense of well-being at the same time.

That’s awesome!

Forest therapy, also known as forest bathing or shinrin-yoku in Japanese, is a deliberate practice which involves immersing oneself into forest setting, for the directed purpose of improving one’s emotional, physical, and mental well-being.

Couples who entered therapy who were motivated to build skills to improve the relationship, were nearly 80% more likely to be together six months after treatment than the couples who entered therapy wanting to know if they should separate or not.

Motivation Matters!

The most important clinical idea in working with a newly cognizant neurodiverse couple is to skill-build with them to better manage the inherent difficulties they face in understanding the distinctly different ways their beloved life-partner processes information…

The obvious fact is this…we need to learn more about the healthy manifestations of narcissism.

That requires us to avert our attention from the toxic, swampy end of the spectrum… which seems to attract our gaze like a car wreck.