I was in need of a change of input so I switched over to a new podcast for a little knowledge and a good laugh now and then. Browsing through the episodes, I landed on a topic that piqued my interest… narcissism. The topic has been all over the internet lately - how do you know you’re dating a narcissist? - but I found most people were talking about someone with an ego. I wanted to learn more, especially considering clients I’ve had in the past have had narcissistic partners.
The episode interviewed Dr. Ramani Durvasula about her new book, It’s Not You. If you were to ask me if I had any relationships with narcissists, I would have given you a definitive no. That is until I listened to this episode and found myself having to pull over in a parking lot due to the fact I was sobbing and could no longer drive safely. Her words were coming through the radio and speaking directly to me.
“You were flexible enough to make this work, but the dark side is that this expectation or your ability to show up like everything is “fine” means that even the good people around you often have no idea how bad it was or is for you.”
― Ramani Durvasula, It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People