Love-bombing is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can have in a romantic relationship. In the moment it feels like the opposite of abuse. The intensity of the attention and the seemingly perfect compatibility are emotionally intoxicating. It feels like being seen, heard, understood, and chosen – all at once. In my coaching practice, working with survivors of…
Cycle of Narcissistic Abuse
The cycle of narcissistic abuse commences with the idealization phase, then progresses to devaluation, which is subsequently succeeded by the discard phase. Afterward, the cycle resumes with the hoover stage. It is a repetitive pattern used by the perpetrator to manipulate, exploit, and subjugate the victim for personal gain.
Financial abuse is a tactic used by one person to gain power and control over another through the deliberate manipulation of money, assets, and economic resources. It can take many forms – from controlling a person’s access to their own bank account, to forcing someone into debt, to stealing money outright. It may be subtle and incremental, or overt and…
Signs of love bombing often marks the first stage of the cycle of narcissistic abuse. People with narcissistic tendencies frequently lavish excessive affection, attention, and gifts on their romantic partners. What may seem like a whirlwind romance and profound devotion, conceals a more calculated intention—manipulation and control. Manipulative people use love bombing to quickly build emotional dependence, only to withdraw…
The narcissistic abuse cycle often begins with an intense period of love bombing followed by a shift to devaluation. As the relationship deteriorates, the recipient of the abuse often desperately seeks to restore the initial connection, only to be met with increasing coldness and criticism. Indifference then seeps in, marking the final stage before the relationship ends with an inevitable…
Coercive control survivor Andrea Smith bravely shares experience of the dangerorous cycle of abuse and how she escaped
Understanding Narcissistic Abuse: Learn about the cycle, signs, and recovery from emotional manipulation and toxic dynamics.
Hoovering is a term used to describe a manipulation tactic used to re-engage survivors in the cycle of narcissistic abuse.
Dr. Michael Stokes shares 4 Signs of Dysfunctional Narcissism for people seeking to avoid getting entangled in relationships with narcissists.
Vanquishing a narcissists enablers may lie in their ‘Wizard of Oz’ origin story. Learn how Dorothy Gale saw the flying monkey destroyed.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Steven M. Sultanoff explains why the extreme narcissist is not falling in love — he is executing a conquest — and what that means for the person he is hunting.