Clarity Blog

When every option is wrong and punishable, you're trapped in a double bind—a manipulation tactic where narcissists create impossible choices to maintain control and prove you're always the problem.

Projection is when someone attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to you—making you responsible for their actions and feelings while avoiding accountability.

I can assess a patient's condition in minutes, but I spent 15 years missing the signs of emotional abuse in my own marriage. Here's how helping professionals become the worst patients.

Circular conversations that go nowhere, constantly shift topics, and leave you exhausted and confused aren't accidents—they're calculated tactics narcissists use to avoid accountability, destabilize your perception of reality, and maintain control.

When your partner brings third parties into your relationship conflicts, compares you unfavorably to others, or creates competition for their attention, you're experiencing triangulation—a sophisticated manipulation tactic that destabilizes relationships and prevents authentic intimacy.

For years, I questioned my own reality. My ex-husband had me convinced that my perfectly normal reactions to his behavior were signs of mental illness. Then I discovered the term 'gaslighting,' and everything changed.

I can spot a phishing email from a mile away, but I missed the love-bombing, gaslighting, and manipulation happening in my own marriage. Here's how my analytical mind became my blind spot.