Shahida Arabi

While PTSD occurs from a single traumatic event, Complex PTSD is caused by a series of repeated, prolonged traumas usually originating in childhood and continuing into adulthood. This can create a sense of captivity and an inability to escape the brutality of your adverse life circumstances. Here are six behaviors people don’t realize you may…

What is Imposter Syndrome? People who struggle with Imposter Syndrome feel like they are undeserving of the recognition and accomplishments they have garnered. Although they may be highly intelligent, educated, skilled, competent or high-achieving, they fear they will be exposed to be less impressive than they are perceived to be by others. Individuals with Imposter…

While trauma bonds can contain elements of codependency, not all people who are trauma bonded are codependents. There are important differences between trauma bonds and codependency. People who are codependent have a pattern of forming relationships with others that tend to be nonreciprocal, one-sided or dysfunctional in some way. Although the term codependency was originally…

Attachment Styles and Avoidant Attachment: Childhood and Adulthood Based on the experiment “The Strange Situation,” psychologist Mary Ainsworth as well as researchers Solomon and Main identified four main attachment styles in children. In the Strange Situation experiment, infants were temporarily separated from their mothers while in an unfamiliar, novel environment with toys and were given…

A guide to how narcissists and psychopaths use cognitive dissonance, and how to defeat it. What is Cognitive Dissonance? Social psychologist Leon Festinger proposed a theory called cognitive dissonance to describe how conflicting thoughts, beliefs and behaviors can cause an uncomfortable discrepancy. Cognitive dissonance can occur when people learn new information that contradicts their beliefs…

Narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by traits such as a lack of empathy, self-centeredness, an excessive sense of entitlement, pathological envy, and exploitation of others. According to researchers, there are two distinct subtypes of narcissism. While grandiose narcissism, or overt narcissism, is associated with high self-esteem, extroversion, less susceptibility to depression, self-aggrandizement,…

Many people wonder how Borderline Personality Disorder differs from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or how Borderline Personality Disorder differs from the usual symptoms of trauma. While there are a few overlapping symptoms between these conditions, there are many marked differences between Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder that are worth highlighting. There are also some…

The female narcissist is shrouded in stereotypes: the femme fatale, the self-absorbed selfie-taker, the materialistic frequent shopper, and the black widow. While it’s true that female narcissists can be vain, focus on their appearance and use their sexuality to garner attention, these traits on their own don’t necessarily mean they are full-fledged narcissists. Even if…

Some narcissistic and psychopathic individuals sadistically enjoy toying with and deliberately causing pain to others. This gives them a grandiose sense of power and control and a smug sense of satisfaction that they have “one-upped” you with their perpetual cat-and-mouse games. Researchers note that sadism is a key feature of malignant narcissism (narcissism with antisocial…

Have you ever experienced abuse where only you were the one who knew it was abuse? You may have experienced “dog whistling,” a covert form of abuse that is intended to strategically disorient the victim while escaping accountability. A “dog whistle” is a distinct, high-pitched whistle that is audible to dogs but not to humans.…

You may wonder why you have so many conflicting emotions, thoughts and behaviors when it comes to trauma, especially if you’ve been traumatized by a manipulative narcissist. The Internal Family Systems model, created by therapist Dr. Richard Schwartz, posits that we all have “inner parts” that fall into three main categories: exiles, managers, and firefighters. These inner…

Gaslighting is a manipulation tactic that distorts your perceptions and makes you question your reality. It invalidates your experiences, emotions, and thoughts. When used by abusive and narcissistic individuals, gaslighting can be an especially powerful tool to get a victim to comply to their demands and remain in the abuse cycle.  The best way to…

If you’re trauma bonded with a manipulative narcissist or a psychopath, you  feel inextricably attached to them as a survival mechanism and unable to leave the relationship. You may even develop a biochemical and psychological addiction to the abuse cycle.  Trauma bonds can be powerful – but as difficult and painful as they may be,…