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Thanks for this Joel, sorry I haven't been able to correspond lately, I've been pursuing my own path through the aftermath of the same minefield Whitney speaks about here. Everything she speaks of here about childhood narcissistic abuse and the lifelong impacts of it I can vehemently confirm, as well as the vulnerability it creates to later abuse through similar tactics. The skewed perception of normalcy created by these types of parental influences does indeed set the stage for much broader forms of narcissistic "parenting" by political and corporate entities, and the more insidious result which she did not discuss- the cyclical patterns of intergenerational societal trauma, hurt people hurting people, that create dysfunctional values and institutions that feed on more of the same. These are indeed very difficult topics to talk or write about, encouraging a silence which provides cover and concealment for the elephant in the room that continues to rampage and trample generation after generation. How will it ever be stopped if we don't reveal it for what it is and understand it's true nature? I have spent a great deal of my last 3 1/2 years after the tragic end of a psychologically abusive relationship studying the psychological literature to learn the same hard truths Whitney discusses here, trying to understand myself through the tools and encouragement of others I have found during that time, and have decided that I will bring my own story and insights about this topic into the public arena, in my own way and will soon begin publishing a series of short stories and commentary to address the experiences, mechanisms, and consequences of early childhood emotional abuse, in an attempt to increase awareness and to expose the far-reaching impacts of our accepted institutions and ways of living in society that despoil our own true natures and rob us all of our birthrights and the potential for a better quality of life. Thank you so much for this, I REALLY needed this encouragement today.

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And my apologies for taking so long to respond. Inbox is a mess. But yea def feel what ya mean. This episode hit home like a mofo.

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