Wow, maybe that is why my sister defends our dead Dad. She doesn't remember or chooses to forget all the monstrous things both our parents did. "Why are you stuck in the past? Why do you keep bringing up the past?This happened 40-50 years ago. Just forgive and move on" is my sister's response.
The biggest enablers are usually your closest family members, which is also why we are where we are, and that's also why we attract those types of personalities later in life, and put up with them for long enough to get attached.
Totally agree, but I think they’ve been groomed and manipulated to be on the narcs side, not to excuse them. Ugh I can’t financially get away from my family right now and I’m dealing with a lot of mental health issues too so it’s super hard
Enablers are worse than the narcissists themselves. It makes me furious how they encourage the narcs to keep up their awful behaviour and silence everyone suffering. Don't even get me started on toxic positivity...
Matilda, this 💯 Surviving then seperating from family was exhausting enough! Now we can focus on becoming & remaining healthy. No more justification, we are worthy!
@@danielcontee7851 She is here to be of help to others, not promote a certain eye state. If watching her disturbs you so much, perhaps you would be better suited watching someone else's videos instead. Have A Nice Day.
Same on my end too. They are just not able to handle the truth. I think the deeper insight into this is that these ppl can't handle the truth b/c they know deep down, subconsciously, that if they were to embrace this truth, they'd have to be held responsible for this new insight b/c that is what we all must do - be respons. for what we learn and apply it to real life. Surprised Dr R doesn't mention this part of it. She tells so much great info - all based on really common sense for the most part - but she doesn't explain why these ppl can't handle the truth. Cog diss is a very dark form of blindness due to how they can't/won't be accountable for how to wake up and become an adult.
Sometimes the enablers are worse. With practice and fortitude, one can block out the narcissist. The social pressure against blocking out the enablers can be a lot tougher.
I agree. ‘You don’t have to explain yourself.’ As soon as I realised this is MY life. I have to live it. So I can choose with whom. Everything got a lot easier. Healing got easier.
My narcissist complained I was mean to him, I was hated everywhere because I was mean to the narcissist. I was not mean to him, I just stayed away mostly.
Narcissists are like the police; Everything you say and do can and will most definitely be used against you. Maybe not this year or the next five years. Maybe fifteen years from now they will bring up that one, teensy little bit of information you gave them and use it against you. Best to stay away from them. Far, far away.
For sure. The rest of my family has finally stopped pushing it. Some things came to light, things that are clear contradictions of the facade she built up around my childhood. I held on to my dignity and never tried to defend my choices and it finally payed off. I wouldn't call it justice. I can tell my family is still uncomfortable with it, but they don't treat me like it's my fault anymore and I can finally start being myself around the people that love me. I'm packing right now for a trip back to my hometown with my kids and for the first time since I left 14 years ago I don't feel anxious about it. Meanwhile the narc has resorted to convincing complete strangers to guilt trip me in private social media messages lol. I don't know those people. And it has no effect on me.
The best thing about the last three years of work to shed away 30+ years of narcissistic abuse is this: I no longer care about the narc, or what his enablers think. I delight in the fact that none of them have access to me or my children ever again. We ghosted them. We cut the cancer out of our lives. Thank you Dr. Ramani.
This is where you want to be. Not angry. Not sad. Not wanting or needing others to understand, agree, or condone your decision, but confident that the decision you made was right... confident enough that their opinion doesn't matter. Congrats on getting there.
This literally is exactly what I’ve experienced, and the family member I shared it with literally discredits it immediately. The abuse has caused me anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
I ALLREADY had excruciating pain from my whole neck surgeries 4 of them. I met someone that was willing to except me for my pain. Big MISTAKE. He’s a controlling Narsasist cheater liar adultery. He Spits in my face. Cheated with his ex wife behind my back several times before I found out. Stayed with her several days at a time. We still talk. But boy my ANXIETY IS BAD bad. Panic attacks. STRESS. PTSD. I literally shake. Like walking on eggshells. He would tell other women there beautiful. Hot sexy. Cute. Nice body. Your hot. While we were married. Lots More lots. ETC. NIGHTMARE
The difficulty I see is that many people don’t know what psychological or emotional abuse is let alone narcissistic abuse. It took me a long time to acknowledge, accept and understand the various forms of non-physical abuse I had experienced (over 50 years). Unless someone has experienced it themselves it can be difficult for them to understand.
I agree! I'm 61 and it took me moving far, far away in order to really understand what had happened to me. There were so many people thinking that I was the problem and labeled me 'unwell'. Now I can see how toxic the enablers have been in my life. It's been interesting, and painful, to realize that the so called friends were not really there for me. Wishing you healing as well!
The hardest part for me before I had a word for this was explaining it to people... like judges when my mother sued for access to my kid. Trying to describe a narcissist is near impossible. You can give examples... but the examples are all petty small shit, because the damage done by the narcissist isn't in the petty incidents... it's in the sheer constant never stop petty incidents and emotion manipulation. But unless someone has experienced it themselves it is impossible to convey the enormity. So in the end you come across as someone overreacting to a few petty incidents. Everything... court included... is done, and my mother has had zero access to my family since my youngest was an infant, but I remember how difficult that explanation was. For the rest of the world I just stated... she was a horrible individual. Everyone knows that horrible evil individuals exist but they never want to believe they know someone raised by one. I could see the words hit and the subject of my mother was never brought up again by anyone I said that to.
yes ..but it feels like another layer of excuses for the narcissistic behaviours ..how else will you even learn about the truth if you start with doubt, that's how narcs survived so long, treating everyone differently & keeping them divided..
Exactly 💯. I found out who the enablers are and have started distancing myself from the narc family I am married too. I find myself alone and healing everyday with knowledge.
This is a very important part to understand and was required for my healing. I rarely explain my mothers personality to anyone anymore but when I feel it necessary, I don’t use the word narcissist. If someone is truly interested, I describe her behaviours. If someone challenges my decision of going no contact, I tell them that they see and hear exactly what my mother wants them to see and hear. There is a “behind closed doors” element that many people will never see. Then I walk away.
Minimizing is one of the most painful responses I’ve ever experienced after reporting an incredibly painful narcissistic attack. Responses such as, “Everyone is struggling with something,” or “That’s so surprising (that you were hurt by painful scapegoating by a person in power who then accused you of “playing the victim” and causing “drama,”) …it’s not often that men are the ones causing drama!”(in other words, “Are you sure YOU’RE not the one causing drama?”) I’m done talking to those people about anything meaningful!
When explaining how my bipolar husband has been acting to his only sister as I thought she needed to know, she said,"Oh well, we all have our cross to bear." He was very ill at the time and now I am finding out this same sister is a full blown narcissist!
@Harriet the Spy I relate. It's a lonely road, but better than a road full of drama and pain. And if you can't talk to someone about something meaningful, they are not worth it.
The realities of our society now is very triggering for those of us that experience narcissistic abuse. We recognize the gaslighting and lies for what they are and it's getting harder to avoid.
Yep. I stopped watching the news years ago. One channel is known for its lies to its viewers, but all of the stations do it. Incredibly triggering when your parents were just these people, and used their siblings to reinforce the gaslighting.
In my experience, the Pollyanna types are hidden narcissists. It took decades to see my ex was sending me back into the lions den with my parents because it took the attention off him. Coverts are the worst!
My brother enables my husband, it’s sad to watch. I always wondered, could he be a narcissist too, they have been friends since childhood. My brother can’t do the things to his wife that my husband does to me because she’s not financially dependent on him. So, I know this may sound strange but, could my brother be getting his anger and frustration assuaged through watching or hearing about what my husband does to me? And that’s why he encourages it or pretends not to see. Don’t know if this is a thing but I’ve often wondered about it. Stay strong guys.
@@salomeisrael3618YES!!! You brother certainly can be getting his kicks out of helping your husband. Especially if his wife won't tolerate it. Especially if he is somewhat financially dependant on his own wife. Sorry you're going through this. I don't believe it's something that you can end, but you can leave it.
When I got rid of the narcissist, I had to trash the enablers. It was painful when reality hit. I had surrounded myself with shallow people who didn't want the party to be over. I had to start from scratch with real friends, moving, changing job & career. Looking back my judgement was clouded by denial, self blame & low esteem. I changed my attitude from believing I wasted my time to one of maturing from life lessons.
In 2018 there was a new Domestic Abuse Law in Scotland. This made coercive control illegal. It can carry a jail sentence of 5 years. It came in 8 years too late to be of help to me but it's good to know that now, the legal system has recognised it as domestic abuse.
@@robinantonio8870 Robin, it IS being used effectively in Britain, and, yes, there will be people who'll get falsely accused and there'll also be people who get away with doing it. We don't judge the value of a law by whether or not people abide by it. By that metric, all laws fail because there are always people who will break them. The real value of laws is the cultural effect they have on social attitudes and that is a process that takes time. I can remember when comedians made jokes about beating kids and rape. the days when the social assumption was that both women and children were prone to making false accusations about such things. Social attitudes have changed, we take such things more seriously these days. Why? Because for every false accusation there are hundreds/thousands more cases that are real. I'd say that's a good thing. And It's not just a woman thing, Robin. That's a gross minimization. There are plenty of men under the coercive control of a woman. It's a destructive, antisocial behavior and laws that define it as a form of abuse and deem it socially inappropriate and a punishable offence are worth having.
@@janislonsdaleleader3078 you clearly didn't read what I wrote. I said narcissistic women would falsely accuse men ( and other women) . Any law that doesn't require solid proof of wrong doing and does not severely punish false accuser is a bad law. Yes, I have been accused by the narc abuser more than once and they were automatically believed even th there was evidence I was the victim.
I work as a Forensic Physician in Scotland and received training from the King's Counsel who prosecutes these crimes in Scotland. She explained that they are hard to prosecute, but they trace ex-patners of the abuser by the time the jury have heard the same story about the accused's pattern of abuse several times from different (unrelated) women "the penny drops".
My mother in law is one of those toxic positive fools. She martyred herself by looking after her alcoholic nasty mother. She told me she “ doesn’t like that I don’t talk to my mother bc she knows that dealing with an abusive mother is possible if one meditates and does yoga.” So in other words my mother and my mother in-law are both shaming me for not being good enough. I rarely speak with my mother in law and when I do…its grey rock and yellow rock. I’m so done with these fools.
Martyrs who do it to feel they're better than other people are annoying and toxic enough, but those who try to force their behaviour on others are just as abusive as the narcs.
To me, the most painful are those who know you and the narcissist and pick the narcissist. I also find it strange when the people who want the person being abused to "take personal responsibility" are so willing to give the narcissist a free pass. I'm completely willing to own my part in things (not standing up for myself, seeing imaginary good intentions, making too many excuses for bad behavior), and work on these things to make myself a healthier person and better example for my children, but I'm not willing to take responsibility for their patterns of poor behavior.
I had that happen to me recently over a relationship that was thankfully only about 6 months. It's been easier to move on from the bad relationship than it has been to stop ruminating over my ex friend chastising me for things I didn't do.
😊I have two sisters and a brother plus an adopted cousin. The cousin even though close in age has never felt like a friend. Recent events have led me to believe she’s a narcissist that helped to destroy my marriage, she sided with my exwife who left me and took my three kids. I’ve never been so angry, hurt, offended and insulted in my entire life. My siblings all sided with my cousin who sided with my exwife. And my parents sided with my older siblings. I’m left completely impoverished.
It is the most painful. I threw myself under the bus to protect my siblings from my mother. Fought their fights and for their rights. Since distancing myself from my mother I’ve been labelled as mentally unwell and they’ve attacked me for it. Cast out and shamed with a smear campaign. It’s been two years and I still have fear leaving my house because I don’t know what has been said about me and to who. My silence is her power and I am going to have to come out of hiding soon. It’s been 2 years
OMG! OMG! I've been suspicious of Toxic Positivity for years now. I get in trouble socially for rolling my eyes. And sometimes I can't believe what sugary dreck I'm listening to. Thank you Dr. Ramani for unpacking this concept!
So many narcs hide behind 'good vibes only'. They want to use it to minimize your ability to feel upset after they treat you like crap, gaslight you into believing you're negative for voicing your feelings, and it takes the accountability away from them to have to fix it. "You're ruining the vibe", "you're always negative" etc.
I have been living with this. I took the harder road by staying I have had over 12 surgeries 2 major heart attacks and cancer in my Thymus caused by stress. After watching Dr.Romani I will never let stress take another organ. She has saved my life.
Do you know Louise Hay? Her books are amazing I’ve flipped through “You Can Heal Your Life” and shared it with friends for years :) Gabor Mates lectures are gold too
Hugs. I also had terrible health problems after an accident & injury caused by the Narc Mom. About a dozen surgeries and disability too. Dr Gabor Mate is a great author on this trauma illness connection. Very healing
In my still very hard ongoing narcissism journey, the system has been THE ENABLER - and it is as scary and frustrating as the narcissistic abuse itself!!
I do agree that my relationship with my enabler (husband) is much harder than my relationship with my narc (father in law). I can distance and stay away from my father in law but my husband continues to defend and excuse his father. Which in turn can cause extreme confusion a self doubt.
This is such an important video 🙏...."UNHEALED" Enablers, fixers, helpers, saviors, codependents, the parentified, serial-trauma-bonders, people-pleasers etc are often the most delusional, in denial, and extreme gaslighters
I made the dumb decision of telling my sister that I had figured out that our mom is a narcissist. She gaslighted me and said that i was brainwashed from society and that she had also thought for a while that there was something wrong with me, but she didn’t tell me because she was worried about me. And then she said that she had to tell mom what I had said, and I begged her not to do it. The first thing she did was to tell my mom and I had to explain it to my mom, and of course she didn’t listen. Then she told me that I had to get lost, and took my keys. And now they are both writing to me that they are worried about me, and that they think something is wrong with me….. so yeah. I don’t know what kind of enabler my sister is. I am so confused
Sisters are always trying to find favor with their narcissistic mother because they’re still trying to seek validation that they lacked when they were kids. You’re NOT crazy.
"Living in the abuse echo chamber of entitlement, arrogance, and lack of empathy while being blamed for everything". It is a great comfort to hear such an accurate description!
When you have a ton of siblings in a system where a parent is the narcissist, you see all these different types. It's EXHAUSTING, especially when they also do therapy and realize what's going on but still participate in the enabling.
My stepdad is like that! She gaslights him, accuses him of things he never said than accuses him of having a poor memory (even dementia!) and blames me if I ever try to explain myself. "It's just her clinical depression." He tells me. "You should look up how to talk to someone with clinical depression!" or "there was no reason for that. Absolutely no reason at all." I HAVE REASONS!!!! He also has a heart condition. I'm terrified one of these days her tantrums are going to kill him. I cannot leave. I can't drive. My dad lives in a small apartment and house prices are well above what can be paid. If something happens to him, I don't know what will happen. She won't have him to scapegoat anymore. She most likely will go back to love bombing me...then... I would have moved out as young as 10 to 12. She drove my dad to drinking and thus he couldn't gain custody of me.
@@wendi-bnkywuv I'm sorry you are going through that. I totally understand. I'm convinced my mother's narcissism and abusive behavior towards my dad contributed to his dementia.
@@patriciasalem3606 Thanks for your feedback! I know that chronic stress contrary to what many people state was commonplace for ancestors, tells me otherwise. Chronic stress can also have a very negative and profound effect the endocannabinoid system which is linked to several areas of the body, including brain health. Unfortunately due to the chronic abuse I've suffered and am yet to suffer, I am now forced to rely on hemp extract to treat my symptoms and ease my anxiety. I find marijuana to be way more effective as it tends to intensify the auditory and tactile hallucinations that give me the strength to be my authentic self. It also helps me with temporarily releasing the fear conditioning as well...which *would* be great...but since I'm living in a place where it's illegal, I have to rely on what's legal, and it doesn't work anywhere near as well. Getting out of the house with my dad to go to local pinball and video game arcades has been working well to relive the stress, but again it's temporary. Although temporary is better than not at all. I can still heal to a point!
I’m distancing myself from an enabler who has been a close friend for a long time. The straw that broke the camels back just happened and she now makes me sick. I’ve lost respect for her and don’t trust her anymore. She’s a self serving enabler just like you described, ugh!
As someone who is the youngest child in my family, a couple of my older siblings have always felt that because they were older they were somehow always wiser than me and would often talk down to me. Even to this day, when we are all middle aged and have successful careers, this behavior continues to happen. I only get together with them for the sake of my mother and someday when my mother passes away, I will distance myself from them even more.
I’m like you. Youngest of three men. My parents and older brothers are gone now. I’m enjoying the peacefulness at the age of 70. You can Look forward to this period. 💫⚡️✨😊
Same here. Youngest of 4 girl boy girl boy. In my culture you have to respect your elders so my siblings being older, I always had to put up with there shit. And when it would get to be too much because they would gang up on me, I woukd go to my parents and have them say respect your older siblings. My older siblings had turned me into their gofer and errand boy. I of course resented this very much and had no where and no one to turn to. To this day, they hurt me with impunity. When I tray to defend myself and try to regain some self respect everyone says I’m being to sensitive.
Yep. I’m almost 61, and my elder sister (4 years my senior) STILL calls me her “baby sister” whenever I broach subjects she doesn’t want to talk about (dr ramani totally described her in this video!!). As long as the conversations stay within HER prescribed perimeters and meet HER needs, all is good, but if I try to share anything about the pain of the narcissistic abuse I’ve been suffering, she reminds me of my pecking order and pivots to something else. I will have to keep it superficial from now on and avoid trying to be fully transparent with her
@@lambsauce1468 yup that sounds about right. But then those same ppl will be livid and beside themselves with banger at you even slightly hinting at the fact that they had a tremendous influence on you and a totally shaped the kind of person you are today in a very real sense. Essentially they are upset because they can’t bare to take responsibility for their own behavior
Wow. This really hit home. "Other people stood by and watched this happen to you and did nothing." I feel like I will be grieving the loss of relationships that I thought were real for a long time. I kept wondering why no one would speak up for me and I mean people I thought were close friends. Thank you, Dr. Ramani for helping us understand the madness.
This video completely resonates with me. People just make you feel as if you are not able to process this whole thing and move on. There were psychologists who wanted me to just be nice to this narcissist and also made me feel that everything I did was not good enough. People are completely unaware and make it look like I am over reacting.
I know! I'm told that I'm being over sensitive or over reacting. Or someone else tells me that the person is on the spectrum (which feels like the shitty behaviour is being excused rather than explained). Very upsetting and invalidating.
I understand where your coming from. Or the statement , “your over reacting , it can’t be that bad”. I don’t talk to others about this for that exact reason.
@@aynilaa I've given up on therapists after all the negative, not to mention traumatic, experiences I've had with them over the years! I'm aware that there are healthy ones who've done, or are in the process of doing, their OWN healing work and do research on trauma etc apart from what they learn at university. It takes a lot of time and energy to find and interview them though, which I don't have nowadays. I want to add that my highly narcissistic sister is a social worker and she's one of the most unempathetic people I've ever known, hence why I believe that ANYONE can become a counsellor etc, as long as they do the work necessary. 🙁
@@cyndigooch1162 I'm too exhausted to find good therapists too. You have to wait for ages and then you're being gaslighted again. My narc sister studies psychology and thinks she's highly empathic.
It still brings up suppressed anger when I think about the toxic positivity bs I got from therapists I paid to help me. Thank you Dr. Ramani for your clarity on the subject of people who just don’t get it, they are exhausting and I no longer even try to justify my pain to them. I want to stand on a mountain top and shout “please listen to her” (you Dr. Ramani). 😊🌺
I fully agree. I fired several "Clueless Therapists" over a three year period. I googled PTSD one day and a WHOLE NEW UNIVERSE of information and understanding regarding abuse and enablers was revealed to me by individuals like Dr. Ramani. I found out that I was not alone or that the situations/toxic family members/individuals that I went no contact with nearly 9 years ago was not an anomaly. I came to realize that there are millions of people worldwide who I may never know in life that have /are living my life- VERBATIM. Even a lot of the examples/statements/comments made by Dr. Ramani have been made by individuals whom I've gone no contact with. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME AN ACCURATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION DR. RAMANI!!!!!!
There are the enablers that will side with the narcissist in order to keep themselves safe from further abuse by said narcissist. This was my experience throughout my life until a little over a year ago. The enabler, not knowing what had transpired other than the story the narcissist made up, told me I owed the narcissist an apology, and I absolutely blew a gasket on both of them and then walked away...forever. It took way too long, but better late than never, as they say.
Isn't it intriguing, that so much of the behavior is the SAME. My siblings want ME to apologize for having defended myself against their incredible demeaning, denying it all of course.
In my family i saw how hard siblings would try to get the attention of the NPD's, as if to prove how they can get along with these creatures, while other's being ridiculed by the toxic individuals just "don't know how to relate". They saw my caring empathic abused mother as weak- for not standing up to my abusive coersive NPD father. "I'll show you how it's done". "I can get along with anyone". It was looked upon as a weakness- to not be able to manage these dangerously cruel toxic people.
I can relate to this Makayla. My father was a Narcissist, my mother the empath, who was scapegoated by her oldest daughter, her inlaws, and the younger children who she thought she could rely on became supporters of their oldest sibling and were the toxic enablers in this drama, which went on for many decades, till she passed away at 80. She lived a miserable life, but was a very kind, hard working, honest decent woman, and all her dreams were stolen by my father, and her oldest daughter. My mother endured the death of her son, and her most talented daughter was driven insane through cruelty and harassment by the manipulative, exceedingly greedy, jealous oldest daughter, who is a master craftsman in deceit and control. My beautiful sister was institutionalized and suffered from terminal illness till she passed away some months ago. Do you think I can explain what a dark tetrad is, or a machiavellian narcissist to cousins and extended family, or the younger siblings? I don't think so. They are completely hood winked and under the spell of this aging narc my devious shitster. Whenever I see this odious individual this is what I think "To The Devil A Daughter"....(might have read that somewhere from the days I used to read Gorgette Heyer)... I didn't fit in this drama as I stood by my sister who was driven insane, and by my mother, and I became the nasty creature who wouldn't come to heel. I was bullied and harassed from my early years, and was molded into being the family scapegoat. I would have a hard time explaining to my best friend from when I was three about the Narcissistic Personality Disorder....I would be viewed as the insane person. So I don't try to speak when I know whatever I say will fall on deaf ears. It's doctors like our good Dr. Ramani who open our minds to various aspects of these tortured souls, the narcissists. They cannot live and love like we do....their every moment goes into looking to whose grave they can dig, and the amount of destruction they are capable of and accomplish is unbelievable.
@@makaylahollywood3677 You did the best thing. I cannot walk away, there's no one for the aging narc sibling. So I do help in emergencies, then try to keep a safe distance.
In my family, enabling was a survival skill. No one wanted to be the one that was scapegoated, beaten and blamed. To be honest, I can forgive my siblings for just trying to get through our childhood years. What I have more difficulty with, however, is the fact that those behaviors never ended as we became adults with our own families. If anything, their behaviors became worse with age. I always said I would be done with them after my Mom passed but I stuck around long enough to help my narc father until he passed. It was hell and my siblings only made it worse. I’ve been no contact for 27 months and took some time to really evaluate my life and all that I had been through. I’m doing okay now. Sadly, my siblings haven’t changed. They try to hurt me by hurting my children. My kids are adults but it’s been hard to watch them be played. They’re starting to see what the family tree is made of, a truth I could no longer protect them from.
@@daughterofdysfunction5623 I am happy for you that now you can be peaceful without toxic siblings trying to manipulate you and make life miserable. They never change. They have gotten away with mayhem, so they think they are smarter than the scapegoats and empaths. It's the nature of the beast to bully, dominate, manipulate and remain untruthful. I can fully understand what it would have been to try to be upright and authentic when everyone around you thinks you are the fool who can be easily manipulated.
Both of my parents were self-serving enablers and they had SO many N friends, including a relative whose family met a tragic end. They were SO good at criticizing me for any minor infractions of how they believed people should live, but worshiped at the feet of people and situations that made me want to vomit.
OMG Dr Ramani - you really have your pulse on exactly what I have been going thru for my entire life. I’m 57 years old. This enabler is my mother ! And the narcissist is my sister. Miserable situation
I used to be naive and trusting in relationships. After seeing that some are shallow, not trustworthy, and/or abusive I have really been selective about my friendships. But I find that being selective means less friends. I do feel quite lonely but I guess it is better than having unsafe friends.
You are safer to be friends with Jehovah's Witness. That is how I connect with people on the streets and on the phone. I trusted and became friends with my elderly neighbor in my building but it turned out it has Narcissistic vibe with her therefore I ended it. She betrayed me. I thought being an elderly person I would be safer, gee i was wrong
100% my experience. Talking to someone who has very little experience with my narc and they invalidate me and come up with antidotes that worked for them. They do have those lower grade narcissistic traits and never questioned me to understand my reality. I have dropped those people from my life. Family or not. Members of my recovery group. They don't get to cross my boundaries anymore. It feels like narcissism is rampant. It was so easy to see them 40 yrs ago. Now I am older and I realized I was only seeing the worst of the worst. Why can't they all just stick their tongues out at us when we look at them so know who they are from the get go? LOL
It was the Evangelical Fundamentalist viewpoint/rules/language of "Turn the other cheek" and "Forgive and forget" and "Let go and let God" that kept me in bondage to abuse for over 50 years.
I understand what you are saying. I was involved with a fundamentalist church for many years and remained married to an abusive man for 43 depressing years. God does not mean for us to accept this kind of treatment. Unfortunately some people can make an idol out of marriage and family, including myself. I worked harder than I should have to "make it work." So much wiser now...
So easy to take individual verses completely out of context... You could equally quote say 'get behind me Satan' to your best friend, 'you vipers, whitewashed on the outside and filthy inside'...
Yes, the enabling is so prevalent today. Guard your peace! Consistency is the key. If people can be harmful and gaslighting one day and then overly helpful the next, this is not genuine. Don’t enable them.
Wow, this concept of “they cannot go deep” really hit home for me. It’s like a light going on when one realizes this pattern is a tell that exposes a few individuals in my life that have flown under the radar. Great stuff as usual Dr. R. 🙏🏼😊
Ugh, when I realized I was married to a narcissist, I told my mom. She asked me about it and tried to excuse it away. I told her if she wanted to know she should look it up bc I was not in any place or space to try and explain it to anyone. You either get it or not but I'm not your teacher and I'm not responsible for justifying myself either. And I'm not going to argue about it. I know it wouldn't have went well. I know I would have been invalidated, he would have been excused. She's already done both. Nope, I walked away from this conversation. THEN I learned that she, my dad and brother are all both narcissists AND enablers yo each other. It all started making sense why I never fit in my family. It FINALLY MAKES SENSE!!!! NOPE, I'm done.
LOL. Totally appreciate all that you said about the chirpy Pollyanna types who enable abusive individuals who have absolutely no intentions of ever being accountable for their bad behaviours. Pollyannas are the most harmful when they're in positions of power & can impede your steps to freedom from the narcissist you're trying to leave. The key is to look past these Power Pollyannas, because they seriously DGAF how anything turns out, as long as they're paid well. Truth is, think of yourself & your wellbeing because nobody else knows better.
A lot of people just refuse to see it, and even if they do, they don't CARE ENOUGH to do anything 😜 To help you, because unless its them!!! They don't give one big care!!! thank you for this video Dr Ramani!! I never realized I may be self gas lighting myself 😩
The toxic positivity folks don’t realize their impaired mental illness knowledge keeps them living in a cocoon! Until they see actual physical abuse as proof they will stay convinced it’s your fault. As another commenter said: Dr. R your daily messages are like a mentorship as there are so many aspects to this scourge. These are our reminders to be vigilant out there! ❤️🙏🏼
I tend to believe the opposite is true. Narcissists do not love themselves. They have very little to no self esteem. Nothing they do or is done for them will ever be enough.
People shame and guilt the victim for being victimised by an abuser, like it's your fault. They try and gaslight your experience by reframing your reality. They don't get it and don't want to. Finding support and validation has been difficult but not impossible. Thank you Dr ramani for your videos.
I've grey rocked my 75 year old mother finally! She now has focused on my brother. My husband went to my mom's house to help with a broken toilet. She told him she is worried about me because I'm so unhappy. Um, no! What she is experiencing is my boundaries. I've felt much happier since I learned about grey rocking.
I think some enablers do it out of guilt, because years ago they ruined someone's family & were instrumental in creating the narcissist who is now destroying their own family... so they tell them what they're doing is not only OK, but a positive step for the narcissist. The enablers pretend (or have somehow convinced themselves) that the decades of abuse... the lying, cheating & stealing are justified.😔
Such valuable information!!! If it were not for these videos and reading comments here, I would be among the loneliest people in the world. The covert narcissist in my life is sharp and fool most others in our lives. I have become an emotional wreck and that is what most people see. I have been the perfect scapegoat.
Toxic positivity fuels indifference and ignorance. Indifference, ignorance, disregard, carelesness are the worst thing in our society. 99.9 perrcent of people are blinded so they dont understand how important TRUTH is. I like you very much Ramani. Thank you.
I once became so enraged in an argument with my ex-husband that I wanted to kill him. I had never felt that way before; I have never felt that way sense. It was a key moment in my journey of understanding what was happening to me.
I have a narcissistic sister, two other sisters, and three brothers. The two sisters and brothers enable the narcissist. I am the narcissist's target. I texted the link to one of your informative videos to my one brother, the one whom I thought would understand. I was thinking that, if I could get him to understand, then maybe the others could understand. He watched the video then texted me saying that it was interesting, but he couldn't understand why I sent it to him. I went no contact with all my siblings after that because I realized that if I could not get him to see the abuse, I wouldn't be able to get the others to see it. I love being an only child.
The Toxic Positivity is one aspect of the NeoLiberalism that plagues our world today and I'm glad you brought it up, Doctor. There are genuinely people out there who think people CHOOSE to suffer. It's basically victim blaming.
Yes. The “toxic positivity “ shames ( one more layer) and falls on deaf ears when you are clinically depressed and in need of medical attention. Your podcasts are so encouraging.
Thanks Dr Ramani. My husband/ narc is a minister. The toxic positively is forever in play. The use of scripture is a tool for gaslighting. The pressure to be the Christian wife, is overwhelming. Meaning, we don’t walk in life with our emotions , but by what scripture has taught us to be. I’m so done with this false life with this narc, having to be this false person in his world.
Please accept the fact that he is not going to change! They never change! Don't put your positive energy on him! Just focus on good people in your life ♥️👍 Be strong 💜
I get it. Very similar dynamic being married to a physician as they carry the God projection. And the spouse is the handmaiden to their insecure egos. Truth is in the heart. Good luck!
I can’t imagine, what a horrible situation! I hope you are able to free yourself. Please keep in mind that you may even lose your children. It may sound crazy but that’s okay. It’s okay to not live with abuse. And maybe no one understands except for those of us who have been through it. I have one person left from my family. One is enough but realistically I could lose that person too. But I’m free and happy. I’m still suffering some of the repercussions of my narcissistic mother but I think I’m close to getting completely free from the destructive effects. We must heal ourselves even when no one understands our struggles.
@@mauraconlon Those who are employed as officers of the law can also act like they are "Godlike". I'm not implying that all law officers are like this but too many are. Psychological testing should weigh heavy in the hiring of these folks and those who make it through should be heavily compensated. I think that would only improve the quality of our police force.
My mother was enabling my narc ex because he was doing free work around her house, and she wanted that to continue. I shouldn't have been surprised, given how she admitted keeping her husband around after he molested me because she was benefitting financially from him.
I really like these compilations because they give a lot of perspective to the trends around me. Yeah, I’ve seen the toxic positive and mild narcissistic people accept, minimalism, deny, optimize, enable, and unintentionally gaslight others, and it’s all for the same trend: they can’t see the actual danger the person is facing through the narcissistic people, and the victim is returning to that cycle now with a new layer is shame.
I have finally cut off contact with the ex narcs family who were pretending to be sympathetic but were only using information across to me and back to him. I don't want that I don't want to be a part of that family anymore they are irrelevant now that we are no longer married. They were his enablers but I never saw it until now.
POLLYANNAS!!!! Yes, these are air-for-brains reasons I want to check out of society, and life in general. Their invalidation and ignorance of our narcissistic abuse is mind and body numbing. The family courts would be slammed, and overflowing, should these narcissistic violations ever get the attention they deserve.
Worse when they are judges lawyers drs counsellors or cops. You are blamed for refusing to forgive or accept the abuse, and insisting on justice or acknowledgement.
Thank you Doctor Ramani! You are not pessimistic but very wise. I have a bunch of these unicorns in my family. My son says they're living in their own bubble and are too afraid to step outside of it!!
Yes, and I think the tendency to highlight grandiose narcissistic qualities when talking about narcissists contributes to this problem. The majority of narcissists, in my experience, are not grandiose. I think the key attributes are 1) deep self-loathing and low self esteem, 2) lack of empathy 3) lack of self-awareness/a tendency to externalize. Put those together and you've got malignant narcissist behavior, whether they're grandiose, covert, or any other stripe.
I am really tired of people I went to school with trying to shame me, telling me how sad my (dead) parents would be that my brother and I don't get along, "you're family", it is not right, they say. Really, it does not matter what other's say, they are ignorant. I make my informed decisions because it is my relationship or lack of. It is my history, NOT theirs. I am willing to have a relationship with him, within my limits. People don't believe, they don't want to believe. I understand that.
At this point, a year after getting myself out of a relationship and coming to some understanding, I have made it a point to not talk to mutual friends about it. I'm out of the proximity anyway. Amazing final points.... the benefits Pollyannas receive from the narcissist and willingness to betray those being harmed by the narcissist....
@Mama Bush yes I've talked about it outside if that friendship loop. There's something about not wanting to be that person creating the flying monkeys :D Also, it's easy to do and a bit of a mute point since I'm no longer in the area. Dr. Ramani first point about keeping it light with some people was a revelatory strategy as well ... recognizing it will always be what it is.
@Erika Valerie yes I've gone no contact and two have died, and one minimized contact. I'm currently dealing with someone who seems to be on that spectrum of behaving in toxic way way less often. The situation is temporary so for the moment keeping it superficial and not sharing. .. having an under derstanding, zero expectation and awareness.... eye wide open and armor of boundaries at the ready
Yes, they are deeply immature and shallow. Their favorite words ARE "awesome" and "amazing!" Except for their own very important problems, they are entirely uninterested and deeply untrustworthy with knowing anything about yours (if they even listen that long).
Ever since I have been dealing with narcissists, I have been dealing with enablers. The most common enablers that I encounter is the type that doesn't want to get involved because they don't want to be the target. I had one person talk to me about the situation and all the others stayed away from me. I knew I was the target because I was different than the average person. I didn't know the reason of my differences until rather resent in my life. I have been diagnosed with Autism/Asperger's and ADHD. Due to the actions of the narcissists in my life, I have been diagnosed with PTSD and Depression. I really didn't understand why the enabler were not helping me because if the roles were reversed, I would help the other person. Through out my younger life, I have help other people that were being bulled. Yes, it created a target on me but I was able to deal with that. I was OK with being different during my childhood. Pretty much when I became an adult, being different was a curse and a magnet for narcissists. The enablers blamed me for being different. "Why can't you behave like a normal person." "Don't stick out, and you will not get wacked."
@@lambsauce1468 If you have PTSD and have the ability to go to a therapist, I truly recommend going to a therapist. I know it will be hard thing to do because you have to tell your story. Everyone that has PTSD has a story that they don't want to tell because telling the story will force them to relive the trauma of the story. Everytime I told my story, I had to take breaks and cry.
@@QQuandarywhy do you being different makes you an autistic. I would say most so called normal people are playing mind games. Being honest highly empathic and standing up to bullies is autistic.?? You are more evolved than rest of the people who is willing to heal from dysfunction. If think high functioning autistic people are more evolved from the rest of the population.
Hopefully more people can become aware of narcissism as there is a plethora of videos, books and an increase in narcissism in general out there. These enablers can be so easily manipulated by the narcissist into being tools used by the narcissist. I have friends who can't comprehend the fact that I come from a abusive family background and refused to marry because the men in my life were narcissistic.
I came from a narcissistic family then was relationships with narcissists and I’m a male who dated other males. In 2020 due to NDE I started a spiritual awakening and I hate toxic positivity. Own your emotions and never allow a phone else to change your reality. I’m all about vibrating high but I am also grieving the loss of walking away frommmy entire family. There is no shame in depression or feeling lost cause even though I am going through a magical experience I am also still in reality and things are bad sometimes
There's some very personally relatable info in your comment! It's maddening! There's definitely some serious turds out there in toxic positivity! My son's husband ridiculed the hell out of me (he's contrarian AF anyway and the same age as I am) he though anything relating to the metaphysical or esoteric/spiritual was BS at best and monetarily psychologically predatory at worst. When I left my counseling practice in 2018 and began to work full time as an astrologer and psychic?; He spread accusations of how dangerous it is to have a former psychology professional armed with information that would have for further exploiting the vulnerable moreso than your average storefront fortune teller" Actually said: "That's what happens to a great deal of your ilk: you react to your powerlessness in society as a woman of non Anglo Saxon Protestant ethnicity no longer married or childbearing age by being fraudulent, charlatan, menopausal con artists etc." Scary to think this! He kept my son separated from me and my daughter as well as he was able to, filled his head with garbage about "female agenda" encouraged him to quit high school the day after he turned 18 (he's 27 now)! Summer 2021 my 48 year old son in law was shot during a robbery at the convenience store he owns and he had a near death experience. It's lead to a "REAL" spiritual awakening... And though I'm glad to have my son in my life more often, very frustrating to have this former staunchly atheist brash loudmouth in my space mentioning the Goddess energy and shadow work and the karmic debts he knows our family has accrued so he married Steven to help us out of the good of his own soul since he vibrates at a higher frequency than ours?! Ugh. He's still on the same trash only now he's able to see it in my aura himself because he believes in them .... better than I can since he was Dead after all... (Eye Roll) and I'm evil on top because he "doesn't arm himself with the knowledge of a psychologist." Well, I don't enjoy it but my son married him so I guess we're family.
Oh boy time to prepare for another eye opening video. I blame you, DoctorRamani, for all of the crying I did in the last weeks. I feel really relieved now, thanks for that.
Spot on! 👍 My favorite analogy is the cliché about whether the glass is A. Half full; or B. Half empty. Which is used to stigmatize a person as an optimist or a pessimist. The problem with the question is that the answers are being manipulated in a false dichotomy fallacy. There is no, C. Both, option, or a D. neither, option. The FACT is that BOTH A and B are true, and neither A or B is true unless C. BOTH are true. The clichè itself is a form of gaslighting, because in any situation where someone in authority uses that authority to pressure you into affirming an A. or B. response, you have to deny an aspect of reality and acquiesce to a lie. Pointing this fallacy out to the person in authority will usually result in them minimizing the problem and dismissing your concern as making mountains out of molehills because it doesn't matter to their goal of assessing you according to their biased paradigm. That is, their paradigm of reality will over-rule your's simply because they have the authority and power to cause you problems if you don't conform.
Not just you in that position - but because there's been so little info in the public discourse generally about narcissism, for decades - what doc Ramani calls here its "quiet acceptance" -- LOTS of us are with you & have been suffering a really long time with no understanding and no relief
I had an enabler who said, "you guys were simply incompatible" rather than "he mistreated you!" when discussing what my narcissist did to me (gaslighting me after cheating/non-consensual polyamory, forcing me to submit to him, not liking my assertiveness, etc).
Oh man...the mention of the "mediation meetings" definitely brought up some stuff. I've been through those at work and I left them feeling like *I* was the problem; maybe I *was* too sensitive, maybe I *was* misinterpreting my supervisor's words...NOPE. After 3 years and a lot of research I've figured out she's a narcissist that they either can't or won't reign in.
Yeppers, I lived through this as well for close to 3 years. I hear you. And he never got involved. I kept asking my boss to do something. Now he's stuck with her.
As you say, Dr Ramani, by the time we develop any sort of understanding about narcissistic abuse, we have already been victims for many months, and most likely years. We are battered; we are bruised; we are broken. Trying to explain the abuse to those that have no understanding can be more emotionally draining than what we have left in the tank (especially when dealing with a covert narcissist, where most of the abuse is behind closed doors).
I am always pressimistic too, and seem to have problems with people I interact with all the time. After learning from your video, I have just realised I told my problems with those 'enablers' who think I am the problematic ones who point out the narcissists problems. They just deny my bad experiences and observations! In this world, there are only a very small percent of people who can truly judge people's characters fairly and connect with their psyche.
Everything you said in this video resonates with me and my personal experience with narcissistic family members. Thank you, Dr. Ramani, for your continued support, information, encouragement, and honesty. I watch your videos pretty much daily because you get it!!! Not many people do. And that's so frustrating. So, thank you and God bless you! By the way, could you possibly do a video on narcissists who hide behind religion? I have personal experience with family who do this. And it is extremely confusing to me.
Been there, seen that ....there's an aging narc close to 80, still going strong, spouts religious stuff, is part of a huge religious trust, and is probably siphoning off some of the takings to line the pockets of women who fall for this narc's charms. I've been watching all this from a distance... Religion is a great bulwark for these slimes to hide behind and use willy-nilly to the detriment of the innocents who run towards religion to find solace.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are filled with how Jesus dealt with narcissist of he day. The Pharisee’s and all those scoffers of the Bible, find comfort in knowing Jesus was not an enabler.
You save my sanity with your videos every day❤ thank you so so much, you have absolutely no idea how much you help people like me. Also, love your wee cat 🐱🥰
I said this before...it's about time somebody has the guts to speak up for the people about this. You have addressed a mindset that's killing....it's a monster...and your pissing alot of people off. God hates toxic narcissistic behavior...whether you know it or not..I believe He's in your corner...and your biggest enemy is the devil...and he works through people....please, please, please, don't push yourself into I'll health. Take care of yourself...take a day of rest to, recharge...we need your voice out here. God bless you Rami...
Ooohhh!!! This video!!! Wow! I live in Southern California and the woo-woo stuff is huge. I went to a counseling session and I know the counselor doesn't get it. She does all the positivity things and even waved smoke over me and chanted. I liked the talk therapy part the most, but the chanting and feathers weren't going to make the narc abuse effects go away in one "exorcism" (metaphor) which is what I felt she was conveying. I was told that past lives come up and this could be a curse on me. Now she gets upset because she seems to feel as if that part of the conversation in healing should be over. I feel as if she wants me to do what she does and live my lifestyle like her because she thinks she is more enlightened. I think she lives some kind of fantasy life with smoke, and crystals and calls herself a healer. It's kinda looking weird to me. I believe I went to the wrong counselor.
Well you just made me feel a lot better about the various therapists I've had that didn't get it. I'm Australian so the free therapy is limited to textbook, accredited content and unfortunately they don't recognize narcissist abuse generally.
My Mother got upset when I decided to distance myself from the narc, she kept saying "Families are just like that" and called and let the narc family know she was on their side.