Dec. 11, 2024

48-Domestic Violence WARRIOR: Amanda; Part 2

48-Domestic Violence WARRIOR: Amanda; Part 2

What happens when you realize the person you love is not who they claimed to be? Join us as Amanda courageously shares her journey through the maze of narcissistic abuse, exposing the chilling reality of gaslighting and manipulation. From being unexpectedly removed from the family auto insurance policy to having her living situation controlled, Amanda’s story is a raw testament to the emotional toll of returning to a toxic environment with hopes for change. She details her path to self-discovery and healing, highlighting the gradual process of documenting her experiences and seeking legal help as crucial steps in reclaiming her life.
Discover the resilience it takes to rebuild after such a tumultuous relationship and the empowerment found in recognizing one's self-worth. We dig into common abusive tactics like love bombing and how they cloud one's intuition, emphasizing the necessity of self-care practices.

Amanda's profile link: https://www.1in3podcast.com/guests/amanda-webb/

1 in 3 is intended for mature audiences. Episodes contain explicit content and may be triggering to some.

Support the show

If you are in the United States and need help right now, call the national domestic violence hotline at 800-799-7233 or text the word “start” to 88788.

Contact 1 in 3:

Thank you for listening and please remember to rate, review & subscribe!

Cover art by Laura Swift Dahlke
Music by Tim Crowe

Chapters

00:00 - Amanda's Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Journey

12:29 - Recovery From Narcissistic Relationship Trauma

23:07 - Empowerment Through Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:02.146
Hi Warriors, welcome to One in Three.

00:00:02.146 --> 00:00:03.391
I'm your host, ingrid.

00:00:03.391 --> 00:00:10.409
In episode 47, amanda describes characteristics associated with narcissistic personality disorder.

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In this episode, she further details her personal experiences, including her healing journey, and what she is planning to do to help others.

00:00:18.841 --> 00:00:22.922
Here is Amanda with a conclusion of her story.

00:00:22.922 --> 00:00:42.994
So I was removed in October of 2022.

00:00:43.015 --> 00:00:49.118
In November, I just sat down with all this nervous energy because I was in fight or flight.

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I was stuck in this, still in this kind of place of chaos, in getting a lawyer.

00:00:57.292 --> 00:00:57.695
What's going on?

00:00:57.695 --> 00:00:57.976
What happened?

00:00:57.976 --> 00:01:04.673
Trying to understand it, I just started typing and it was this continuous Word document and I created the list.

00:01:04.673 --> 00:01:12.751
So on the list I wrote all the abuse, gaslighting, the manipulation, the lies, everything from asshole to abusive.

00:01:12.772 --> 00:01:21.546
So one of the things he removed my car from the family auto policy on two different occasions because I didn't agree or obey with him.

00:01:21.546 --> 00:01:22.670
So he took off.

00:01:22.670 --> 00:01:31.612
So actually I had to call the insurance company and the woman said to me you can get your own policy in the same household.

00:01:31.612 --> 00:01:36.769
However, you have to tell me that you're a victim of domestic violence.

00:01:36.769 --> 00:01:42.989
So I had to admit that and in doing that, I wasn't ready.

00:01:42.989 --> 00:01:44.451
I wasn't there there yet.

00:01:44.451 --> 00:01:47.599
I didn't understand that I was being abused.

00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:57.126
Yet let's see, when I was looking for a new car in 2021, he told me I better buy a car I can afford on my own, since I would be moving out soon.

00:01:57.126 --> 00:02:00.331
So yeah, he had started this.

00:02:00.331 --> 00:02:06.703
I mean, he had been telling me to get the f out for years I moved out twice, or actually three times.

00:02:06.703 --> 00:02:08.691
I moved out three times Once early on.

00:02:09.593 --> 00:02:10.456
I called the police.

00:02:10.456 --> 00:02:14.145
He totally freaked out in 2019.

00:02:14.145 --> 00:02:14.947
And I had.

00:02:14.947 --> 00:02:31.590
I called the police and took him in and he was charged with second degree harassment and assault, so that I didn't press charges at the time because, again, I thought, oh, he's working on himself, this is just a little snafu, we're going to get through this.

00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:39.663
He came back, he cried, he was okay for a little bit and then things started again, of course, but I had moved out during that time.

00:02:39.663 --> 00:02:40.765
I moved out for two weeks.

00:02:40.765 --> 00:02:52.804
He called me every day, begged me to come back and I came back and I should have never come back.

00:02:52.713 --> 00:02:53.956
Moved out in May of 2022, so I moved out for a month before then.

00:02:53.956 --> 00:02:54.056
I would.

00:02:54.056 --> 00:03:04.008
I would come downstairs with two-story house in the morning and I'd wear air pods every morning listening to meditation music before I went downstairs to make coffee, just so I could be in a place where I didn't feel reactive and I couldn't hear what he was saying.

00:03:04.008 --> 00:03:06.556
So I could be in a place where I didn't feel reactive and I couldn't hear what he was saying.

00:03:06.556 --> 00:03:11.905
So I'd wear AirPods with meditation music and I would crank it up so I wouldn't hear him.

00:03:11.905 --> 00:03:14.467
He would be working in the living room.

00:03:14.467 --> 00:03:27.127
It was open concept and you know I could hear him talking but I just ignored him at that point it was just too much and I would take my coffee and go upstairs and luckily at that time he didn't try to chase me or anything.

00:03:27.407 --> 00:03:29.355
But I moved out in May of 22 for a month.

00:03:29.355 --> 00:03:30.540
He asked me to come back.

00:03:30.540 --> 00:03:32.467
He was going to do all these things for me.

00:03:32.467 --> 00:03:33.891
The business was for me.

00:03:33.891 --> 00:03:35.056
I came back.

00:03:35.056 --> 00:03:40.330
It was good for a couple of weeks and then it started all over again and it became worse.

00:03:40.330 --> 00:03:41.431
It became worse.

00:03:41.431 --> 00:03:45.673
So then October happened and that was the last straw.

00:03:45.673 --> 00:03:53.331
So as I was moving out in May, he threatened to put all my belongings in the driveway for overnight to pick up.

00:03:53.331 --> 00:03:55.610
He said I'm just going to drag everything out there.

00:03:55.610 --> 00:03:59.969
He had actually taken everything downstairs that I owned I never asked him to do it.

00:04:00.070 --> 00:04:00.974
I didn't tell him to do it.

00:04:00.974 --> 00:04:06.170
He just started packing up my stuff and put it downstairs and then put it all in the garage.

00:04:06.170 --> 00:04:13.729
As soon as I moved back into the house, he asked me for money, you know, and of course I'm like, oh, we're working on this, yes, and I gave it to him.

00:04:13.729 --> 00:04:14.963
He promised to repay me.

00:04:14.963 --> 00:04:18.408
He never did, you know, and I've never really been like that about money.

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I'm like, oh, I'm contributing, he makes more.

00:04:21.281 --> 00:04:22.562
He's paying for the house.

00:04:22.562 --> 00:04:27.588
Of course I can pay for this and you know some of the smaller bills in the house I pay for.

00:04:27.588 --> 00:04:33.812
So in the mornings he liked to start arguments with me before I go and I'd leave to go to one of my schools to teach.

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So he started an argument with me in the entire way.

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There I'm listening to music.

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I'm trying to change my perspective.

00:04:45.028 --> 00:04:56.891
I'm trying to get out of that feeling so I can be effective in my school, so I can walk into my school and work with my teachers and the students that I worked with with a smile on my face and really concentrate on what I'm trying to teach.

00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.423
That day I left for work.

00:04:59.423 --> 00:05:00.786
I had a chihuahua named Charlie.

00:05:00.786 --> 00:05:11.213
He passed in but you know, I left for work and came back to find him in a crate in the middle of the bed, closed like he.

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You know the dogs we had three dogs total and they all end up passing away, but three dogs total and they kind of roamed free and he was home all day.

00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:28.399
He would let them out and you know, his dog was crated when he left anywhere.

00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:44.322
But my dog was always free to roam and decided that he needed to be crated because the other dog was crated and he decided to put it in the middle of the bed so I would see it and get upset, instead of like next to the other dog on the floor like a normal person, right?

00:05:44.322 --> 00:05:54.411
No, he said the electrical circuit in the room that was my office was overloaded and that I can't get electric to the room anymore.

00:05:54.411 --> 00:06:01.656
So he went downstairs and pulled the fuse from that room so I couldn't work.

00:06:01.656 --> 00:06:09.947
If I was up there on my computer at night, I couldn't see because he had pulled and says you know it's too much, so we have to.

00:06:09.947 --> 00:06:11.930
One of the rooms can't be lit.

00:06:11.930 --> 00:06:12.980
I mean this is just.

00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:14.485
I mean, how insane is that?

00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:18.557
it really is like how do you even think of that?

00:06:18.557 --> 00:06:19.500
That's so weird.

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I don't know right, where do you get this stuff?

00:06:22.745 --> 00:06:25.129
And then there was not Okay, so with that.

00:06:25.129 --> 00:06:28.915
Another bizarro thing was he said we had wireless.

00:06:28.915 --> 00:06:35.350
The wireless router was in the basement, my computer and office was on the second floor.

00:06:35.350 --> 00:06:39.610
He took the wireless router and was walking around.

00:06:39.610 --> 00:06:40.291
He unplugged it.

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He was walking around with it in a messenger bag that he had, so I couldn't work anymore.

00:06:46.146 --> 00:06:51.211
So I'm in the middle of typing all of a sudden the wireless is gone and I get up and I'm like what's going on?

00:06:51.211 --> 00:06:57.240
And he's like, oh, this needs to be, uh, you know, recalibrated and I gotta take it to the computer store.

00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:58.103
And I'm like, why?

00:06:58.103 --> 00:07:01.370
Because I'm born yesterday and that's not true.

00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:03.644
There's nothing, you need to go and change anything.

00:07:03.644 --> 00:07:04.747
It it's working just fine.

00:07:04.747 --> 00:07:12.543
You decide to unplug it and carry it around.

00:07:12.562 --> 00:07:21.524
And then he went in the bedroom and locked himself in and with the router and told me that I should leave him alone, that I'm harassing him, that I'm bothering him, that I'm the problem again, right?

00:07:21.524 --> 00:07:26.072
So yeah, it's just the scenarios that he was set up.

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And then when I would say anything against it, defend myself or or express my disgust, then I'm the problem, right, I should just be in acceptance of the crazy.

00:07:38.781 --> 00:07:40.540
Um.

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He told me that he wouldn't attend my cousin passed away.

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He told me he wouldn't attend my cousin's funeral because she didn't attend our wedding years prior.

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She wasn't there, so he's not going to go to her funeral.

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I just I just looked at him and left no, I can't, I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't deal with it.

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There are also papers in court that he lied to the court about how much money he made and how much he paid out.

00:08:06.232 --> 00:08:20.937
So we both had to fill up these forms about you know money going in, you know money coming in, money coming out, and he lied about how much was coming in and going out and unfortunately the W-2 doesn't lie, so we had a little bit of a problem getting that, getting financials.

00:08:21.737 --> 00:08:24.298
So we did some personal development early on.

00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:26.701
I started it and it really helped me.

00:08:26.721 --> 00:08:30.127
It worked well for me and then he got involved.

00:08:30.127 --> 00:08:33.014
So once you, it's called the 90 day game.

00:08:33.014 --> 00:08:37.149
Once you do the 90 day game and you go through it, you have a coaching call every day.

00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:39.644
Once you go through it, you can become the coach.

00:08:40.164 --> 00:08:50.293
So he decided to coach this 90 day game and I was against it, not because I didn't want him to help other people, but because I knew what kind of crazy that this was going to create.

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Not only was this creating a monster, but I knew that because he was working so hard to impress all of these people that the backlash was coming.

00:09:01.875 --> 00:09:04.307
And then that's not truly who he is.

00:09:04.307 --> 00:09:08.024
So it was going to come back and I was right.

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So, as he, you know, pretending to be this other person with his group of other coaches and with the people who was actually coaching behind closed doors, he's verbally attacking me and he was actually working his triangulation magic and telling me that these people didn't like me, they didn't want to hear what I had to say.

00:09:28.065 --> 00:09:31.212
So, somehow my presence, because we would have.

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They'd have meetings at my house and I would go upstairs just to be respectful.

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But I shouldn't be listening, I shouldn't be hearing it and I'm not a part of this.

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This is his thing.

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Some of the other terrible things.

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He stole my wallet and hid it for three weeks after lying to police.

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I had called the police after that happened.

00:09:47.751 --> 00:09:51.403
I had to get a new license, I got new credit cards.

00:09:52.865 --> 00:09:53.668
I saw him do it.

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I was down the hall.

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I saw him walking across from my office to the bedroom with my wallet in his hand and he locks the door.

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And two weeks later I'm sitting in my office and there was like this little cabinet that I had.

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He stood there, he opened the door and the wallet is sitting in there and he just looks at me and he walks off and I'm like I didn't even know.

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I was like frozen, I didn't even know what to do.

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A lock on on the bedroom door, a handle.

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He took the whole thing off.

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He switched it with the one that attached the laundry room or the breezeway from the garage.

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There's like a little laundry room and then the kitchen.

00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:41.028
Well, there is a door that you can close for the garage.

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He took that doorknob, the master bedroom doorknob, and switched that so he had the key so he could lock himself in the bedroom.

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He could barricade himself in there.

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So whenever I was knocking on the door trying to get my clothes, my toiletries, I have to work, I have to leave.

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I was the problem Because that's not my house and that's not my room and I had ended up, you know, that night I had slept, you know, downstairs in the living room, or I had a little rollout bed that I put in my office and because of that he would lock himself inside and not let me in and say that it was because I was the abuser and whatnot.

00:11:28.638 --> 00:11:29.038
I'm like.

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I just want to get my stuff.

00:11:30.298 --> 00:11:34.605
So those are some of the things that he would do.

00:11:34.605 --> 00:11:36.389
I have another video.

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I pulled up home and he walked.

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He was walking around my parked car recording me with his phone as I sat with the doors locked and just walking around recording me and if you could see the video, it's super creepy and I'm like what are you doing?

00:11:52.563 --> 00:11:53.725
What are you doing?

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Back to social media.

00:11:56.030 --> 00:11:58.101
So that was part of the that.

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He didn't hit me.

00:11:58.984 --> 00:12:06.566
So those are some of the things that I posted there and I have other things that I posted on that page as well.

00:12:06.586 --> 00:12:19.370
You know, I talked about the choices he made, how he behaved during the marriage and we were married for almost seven years total together, for eight, eight and a half, and there was definitely an incline in that disbarging.

00:12:19.370 --> 00:12:22.409
So you can hear in some of the things that I said and those were.

00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:23.585
Some of those were out of order.

00:12:23.585 --> 00:12:30.268
So it started off kind of him being a jerk and rude and and then it went into gosh.

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This is actually abused, you know, and it took me a long time to figure that out actually, because at the beginning he mirrored me, you know.

00:12:39.530 --> 00:12:40.972
He said he wanted everything I did.

00:12:40.972 --> 00:12:43.296
He wanted that marriage, the family, the business.

00:12:43.296 --> 00:12:48.440
He loved bomb teams.

00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.139
He rented the marquee outside a small movie theater to ask me to marry him and took me there.

00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:58.447
Yeah, from standing on the sidewalk looking up Amanda William, his name you know.

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We did everything together at the beginning.

00:13:00.010 --> 00:13:08.284
We made a lot of plans and he would have a little bit of anger stuff going on, but then he would make up for it or then he would apologize, you know.

00:13:08.284 --> 00:13:14.047
So, looking back, I did experience his anger issues early on, but I thought he was working on himself himself.

00:13:14.047 --> 00:13:15.611
He was dedicated to personal development.

00:13:15.611 --> 00:13:19.530
It seemed like a short time that it was working until it didn't.

00:13:19.530 --> 00:13:31.230
And then that person that I thought I knew, the person he presented his representative went further and further away and the real him started coming out.

00:13:31.230 --> 00:13:35.346
And the other thing about the narcissist is they're very much a creature of habit.

00:13:35.366 --> 00:13:37.870
So let's go back to the restraining order of October.

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In October of 22, I found out through my research that he also filed a restraining order against his ex-wife in 2010, while they were divorcing.

00:13:47.003 --> 00:13:48.868
So that was part of it.

00:13:48.868 --> 00:13:50.150
Now, did it actually go through?

00:13:50.150 --> 00:13:50.591
I don't know.

00:13:50.591 --> 00:13:51.883
I couldn't find the information.

00:13:51.883 --> 00:13:58.605
I wasn't going to ask his ex-wife and that's public knowledge, that's on case net.

00:13:58.605 --> 00:14:06.969
I also found out that he had a temporary order against him and then a full order granted on May of 2016 for a year.

00:14:07.910 --> 00:14:09.293
So let's look at the timeline.

00:14:09.293 --> 00:14:12.024
So I met him in January of 2015.

00:14:12.024 --> 00:14:16.653
He had just broken up with his girlfriend earlier that month in the worst way.

00:14:16.653 --> 00:14:22.111
Now he had lied to me and told me that they split up in October of the previous year.

00:14:22.111 --> 00:14:23.743
So I thought, oh, okay, he's got.

00:14:23.743 --> 00:14:24.004
You know.

00:14:24.345 --> 00:14:27.777
The rest of October, november, december, most of January.

00:14:27.777 --> 00:14:30.243
That's almost that's the three and a half months.

00:14:30.243 --> 00:14:31.625
Four and a half months.

00:14:31.625 --> 00:14:32.847
You know that he broke up.

00:14:32.847 --> 00:14:35.453
So we started dating around the end of.

00:14:35.453 --> 00:14:37.066
I met on the end of January.

00:14:37.066 --> 00:14:38.605
They broke up in January.

00:14:38.605 --> 00:14:45.466
She moved out, Then she had the order six months, so May of 2016,.

00:14:45.466 --> 00:14:55.469
It was expired, so she decided to go for a full order of protection and so that went from May of 16 to May of 2017.

00:14:55.469 --> 00:14:59.620
We were married in July of 2017.

00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:04.929
So two months after this order expired, we were married.

00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:11.005
So the whole time I was dating, him, got engaged and almost got married.

00:15:11.005 --> 00:15:15.354
Right, he had a restraining order against him and had the record sealed.

00:15:15.354 --> 00:15:18.706
I had no idea it's not on case net.

00:15:18.706 --> 00:15:21.152
It wasn't on case net, he made sure of that.

00:15:21.152 --> 00:15:28.549
And it just blows my mind that our ending was more dramatic than that one.

00:15:28.789 --> 00:15:30.373
Things just got worse.

00:15:30.373 --> 00:15:32.215
So I left.

00:15:32.215 --> 00:15:34.845
So let's talk about that.

00:15:34.845 --> 00:15:38.232
So I left, I got out and you know my head was spinning.

00:15:38.232 --> 00:15:39.466
That was October, november.

00:15:39.466 --> 00:15:45.027
I started writing the list and I just started writing down everything that was happening, all the dates, everything that was going on.

00:15:45.027 --> 00:15:46.991
You know I had friends calling me.

00:15:46.991 --> 00:15:54.597
I had two of those guy friends call me and tell me, text me or call me and tell me that he misses me, he wants me back.

00:15:54.597 --> 00:15:59.148
He was talking about me and how he wanted, you know, things to work out.

00:15:59.148 --> 00:16:07.152
And I was and I said, nope, I know I will only speak to him if I have to through this divorce and that's it and I'm done.

00:16:07.152 --> 00:16:08.662
Let's talk about healing.

00:16:09.283 --> 00:16:12.648
So on that journey, you know it's taken some time.

00:16:12.648 --> 00:16:17.400
It's been, you know, two years and it's still in the works.

00:16:17.400 --> 00:16:18.462
It's not 100%.

00:16:18.462 --> 00:16:21.210
So I was removed in October.

00:16:21.210 --> 00:16:24.057
Then I joined a gym again in January.

00:16:24.057 --> 00:16:26.062
So it took me a couple of months.

00:16:26.163 --> 00:16:39.885
I, you know, got through the holidays in January, I'm like, okay, I started to join the gym, I got on the treadmill and elliptical, I joined yoga classes and I realized I had so much nervous energy that I had to get out.

00:16:40.206 --> 00:16:46.386
And so, you know, it felt a lot better to get out, to get moving, and also I could start to.

00:16:46.386 --> 00:16:48.311
I was starting to clear my mind.

00:16:48.311 --> 00:16:51.244
I had the fog was starting to lift.

00:16:51.244 --> 00:16:56.081
I felt like this chaotic, like every time I would think of a scenario that happened.

00:16:56.081 --> 00:16:59.649
It'd make my brain spin, it was so uncomfortable and it actually hurt.

00:16:59.649 --> 00:17:06.090
So, you know, I was living in fight or flight and I didn't even realize it for a long time.

00:17:06.090 --> 00:17:13.747
And when I did, I'm like, okay, now I'm here, what do I do, you know, and it took some time to regulate my nervous and I'm still working on all of those things, you know.

00:17:13.747 --> 00:17:28.865
And even today, I go to the gym, I do yoga, I have a Pilates, I meditate, I sit, I get quiet, because I felt like I lost that ability and I listened to my intuition and I'm learning to trust it again.

00:17:28.865 --> 00:17:32.248
And you know, sometimes, sometimes that takes time.

00:17:34.088 --> 00:17:44.557
I think trust is a big deal because you get so lost in this chaos of the relationship that you're in the apologies and the abuse and it goes back and forth.

00:17:44.557 --> 00:17:55.688
You question your reality and when you get out I think it is difficult to trust yourself again, like understand what is real, what is okay and what's you.

00:17:55.688 --> 00:17:57.489
So I think that's a big deal.

00:17:58.311 --> 00:17:59.434
And you bring up a good point.

00:17:59.434 --> 00:18:01.221
Because that's what they're trying to do.

00:18:01.221 --> 00:18:03.778
They're trying to erode who you are.

00:18:03.778 --> 00:18:06.196
They want to take that person away.

00:18:06.196 --> 00:18:08.655
So you're their puppet, you're their extension.

00:18:08.655 --> 00:18:12.458
You're not you anymore, you're just what they tell you to do.

00:18:12.458 --> 00:18:14.938
You aren't your own person.

00:18:14.938 --> 00:18:29.423
So all of those qualities that they saw in you in the beginning, they think, by taking that away from you, that that's somehow they're gaining, they're controlling, they're winning because if he can't have those qualities, neither can I.

00:18:29.423 --> 00:18:36.384
And he's going to make sure of it right by um, trying to snuff me out, trying to steal my energy.

00:18:36.730 --> 00:18:42.556
Yeah, learning to trust my intuition again, because I did have some red flags along the way and I didn't listen.

00:18:42.556 --> 00:18:50.736
I thought, you know, and he took advantage of the fact that I have empathy, I'm a special ed teacher and you know he can be helped.

00:18:50.736 --> 00:18:53.844
You know he's working on it, um.

00:18:53.844 --> 00:19:00.181
So you know I told myself those things, even though you know I really should have listened to my intuition when I showed up the first time.

00:19:00.181 --> 00:19:08.837
So I will say that my short-term memory has been affected, my balance coordination has been affected, but it's improving.

00:19:08.837 --> 00:19:18.981
It is definitely improving, and I reiterated everything I knew about narcissistic personality disorder so I could be an acceptance of his actions because they weren't about me.

00:19:18.981 --> 00:19:26.103
I'm not going to take it personally and what I learned first of all, like I mentioned, they all work from the same handbook, so it's not just me.

00:19:26.103 --> 00:19:31.150
I've read other stories from other women who've experienced the exact same thing and it's just what.

00:19:31.150 --> 00:19:36.441
I could take my emotions out of it by saying, okay, this is just what they do.

00:19:36.441 --> 00:19:43.868
This isn't in relation to me at all, because I also know he had treated past women in his life the exact same way.

00:19:44.369 --> 00:19:47.298
So what I concentrated on was the four areas of my life.

00:19:47.298 --> 00:19:49.750
I have the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical.

00:19:49.750 --> 00:19:52.798
I had to sit down and take stock of all of those things.

00:19:52.798 --> 00:19:55.090
Where am I at in all these areas?

00:19:55.090 --> 00:20:00.162
Like I myself, I feel like I'm in a pretty emotionally sound person.

00:20:00.162 --> 00:20:03.060
I'm pretty stable, which is probably another reason why he chose me.

00:20:03.060 --> 00:20:06.159
I had to take a look at emotional, you know spiritual.

00:20:06.159 --> 00:20:10.981
I've been on a spiritual journey for the last 10 years when I turned 40.

00:20:11.529 --> 00:20:22.066
And so some of the things I learned in some of those teachings and then personal development, I think has really helped me to get through this a lot faster as well, because I went back to what I knew.

00:20:22.066 --> 00:20:24.113
I can change my knew, I can change my perspective.

00:20:24.113 --> 00:20:24.714
I can choose.

00:20:24.714 --> 00:20:30.172
That's not to say that I wasn't upset and that upset actually turns to anger.

00:20:30.172 --> 00:20:34.220
So I thought, okay, how am I going to use this anger?

00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:36.324
Because I have to.

00:20:36.324 --> 00:20:38.836
I got to get it out in a healthy way.

00:20:38.836 --> 00:20:40.380
I need to use it in a healthy way.

00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:43.790
What am I going to do in a healthy way?

00:20:43.790 --> 00:20:44.673
I need to use it in a healthy way.

00:20:44.673 --> 00:20:45.154
What am I going to do?

00:20:45.154 --> 00:20:48.545
And so, finally, I could work through those anger and just be in acceptance of this is who he is.

00:20:48.545 --> 00:20:49.406
This is what happened.

00:20:49.406 --> 00:20:50.311
What now?

00:20:50.311 --> 00:20:51.856
What do I do with that now?

00:20:51.856 --> 00:20:53.321
What are the lessons I learned now?

00:20:54.105 --> 00:21:05.463
And it became abundantly clear that I am supposed to help other people, other women who have been in this situation and I understand it happens both ways, but my perspective as a woman married to a narcissistic man.

00:21:05.463 --> 00:21:11.359
So how can I help these women to understand and to help themselves?

00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:14.628
So that's what I'm starting to do now, you know.

00:21:14.628 --> 00:21:17.914
And I asked myself why did I accept this treatment?

00:21:17.914 --> 00:21:28.222
So I had to do the deep dive into my past and take a look at my childhood and take a look at why I was always a yes girl and I was always a people pleaser.

00:21:28.222 --> 00:21:29.867
And why was I doing that?

00:21:29.867 --> 00:21:35.061
And why didn't I leave sooner the first time he showed me who he was and he was arrested.

00:21:35.061 --> 00:21:36.230
Why didn't I?

00:21:36.270 --> 00:21:39.558
leave then I thought I could help him.

00:21:39.558 --> 00:21:42.403
I thought, you know, as a special ed teacher, I thought if I loved him enough, if I gave him strategies, things like that, I thought I could help him.

00:21:42.403 --> 00:21:55.353
I thought, you know, as a special ed teacher, I thought if I loved him enough, if I gave him strategies, things like that, I thought that he would see that and he would want it enough and that he could see that I'm trying to make this work and he could try to make this work as well.

00:21:55.353 --> 00:22:00.255
So I thought, if we could see that I'm trying to work with him and the more I tried to help, the more he pushed me away.

00:22:00.255 --> 00:22:00.999
I was trying to get him admitted.

00:22:00.999 --> 00:22:02.066
The more I tried to help, the more he pushed me away.

00:22:02.066 --> 00:22:03.372
I was trying to get him admitted.

00:22:03.372 --> 00:22:05.138
I was trying to get him to see a doctor.

00:22:05.138 --> 00:22:07.046
I was telling him something was wrong with him.

00:22:07.269 --> 00:22:17.440
That's how he taught, and so I had to take a look at that and realize that I myself have a codependent nature, and it's something that I learned a long time ago.

00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:21.477
Apparently, you know, I was trying to help someone who wasn't doing anything to help himself.

00:22:21.477 --> 00:22:24.282
You know, at the beginning he was, and then he stopped.

00:22:24.282 --> 00:22:31.923
That's not my responsibility, although you know I was stuck being around him and living with him at the time.

00:22:31.923 --> 00:22:34.656
You know it was just the opposite.

00:22:34.656 --> 00:22:44.394
He sabotaged everything that I was trying to do and trying to help, and so I had to be in acceptance of that as my responsibility, and he's done that in other relationships.

00:22:44.394 --> 00:22:47.153
I had a picture of when I the summer that I met him.

00:22:47.935 --> 00:22:55.317
And after I met him, and then a day, the day I left, I took a picture of myself in the mirror and at that point I I knew who I was.

00:22:55.317 --> 00:23:05.253
But when I looked in the mirror I didn't recognize that person, I didn't recognize her and I'm like what the hell happened?

00:23:05.253 --> 00:23:10.651
And I was so exhausted from the chaos, the arguing, the trying to defend myself and standing up for myself that he calls abuse.

00:23:10.651 --> 00:23:17.632
I was just done and I knew, I at that point that I, you know, I couldn't, there was no way I was ever going to go back.

00:23:18.512 --> 00:23:33.082
So this was also a big reminder for me and looking at him that that the world within me is the most important versus the world around, because no one can tell you who you are.

00:23:33.082 --> 00:23:35.571
No one's going to validate you.

00:23:35.571 --> 00:23:40.602
You have to have your own inner strength, your own inner value first.

00:23:40.602 --> 00:23:56.678
And you know, it's great when someone compliments you, it's great when someone compliments you, it's great when someone gives you kudos or whatever, but your self-worth comes from within and you are enough and you are worthy because you're here, because you're a human being, for no other reason.

00:23:56.999 --> 00:24:05.657
I mean, that's it, that that is all you need to know, that you have value, because you're a person who's working in the game and the only person I can control is myself.

00:24:05.657 --> 00:24:25.434
You know, I can only self-reflect and help myself and create change for myself and hopefully, let that, let what I've learned, help other women in what I'm doing going forward in coaching them and talking about my story, and you know how I've helped myself.

00:24:25.434 --> 00:24:38.517
So you know, I continue to work in all these four areas, because this is my rebuilding thing includes sharing my story, helping other women and opening up about such a sensitive topic, very direct and very open.

00:24:38.517 --> 00:24:40.561
I will tell you, it's not.

00:24:40.561 --> 00:24:43.094
I don't think that this is something I should be ashamed of.

00:24:43.094 --> 00:24:45.961
I don't feel like it's something that I need to keep quiet about.

00:24:45.961 --> 00:25:02.420
And it had been bubbling up for a long time and I just I needed to feel ready, I needed to feel that stability in myself, and I'm there and I've got it and I decided, you know, it's finally time for me to say something, and so I spoke out.

00:25:02.760 --> 00:25:36.694
So, coach, author, speaker, that's where I'm headed with this next chapter and it's become really clear that this is something that I'm going to continue to do, and so also right now, with this podcast, I am offering a free narcissistic abuse recovery journal for any listener, and I've included a link in my bio so when you click on my bio and the little world that you have down there, you can click on it, put in your information, it'll come to your email and it's about 17 pages.

00:25:36.694 --> 00:25:41.298
So there's some education there.

00:25:41.298 --> 00:25:52.103
And then self-affirmations it tells you what they do healing reminders, daily healing affirmations, gray rocking methods like what is it?

00:25:52.103 --> 00:25:54.174
How to help yourself in that situation?

00:25:54.174 --> 00:25:57.604
Self-awareness, some of your habits, you know.

00:25:57.604 --> 00:25:58.952
What are you grateful for today?

00:25:58.952 --> 00:26:00.497
What did you enjoy about today?

00:26:00.497 --> 00:26:01.459
What do you?

00:26:01.459 --> 00:26:02.770
Where do you want your life to go?

00:26:02.770 --> 00:26:03.913
What do you see for your life?

00:26:03.913 --> 00:26:04.816
Things like that.

00:26:04.816 --> 00:26:06.981
So forgiveness oh, that's huge.

00:26:07.509 --> 00:26:11.901
Forgiving yourself for not knowing forgiving yourself for not making a decision.

00:26:11.901 --> 00:26:14.017
You wished you would have seen her, because you didn't.

00:26:14.017 --> 00:26:15.703
You just weren't in the place.

00:26:15.703 --> 00:26:28.342
So, I think, forgiveness and dealing with some of that guilt, especially if you have children as well you have to just realize that you are doing the best that you could in that moment in time and you just move forward.

00:26:28.342 --> 00:26:32.444
So there's something, there's some help there, limiting belief.

00:26:32.444 --> 00:26:33.990
There's a lot of information here.

00:26:33.990 --> 00:26:37.057
If any of your readers want to download this journal, it's free.

00:26:37.057 --> 00:26:40.436
It's something that I can help contribute.

00:26:40.436 --> 00:26:46.077
And then, going forward, I'm going to I'm being free, to course, I'm going to be speaking more about this.

00:26:46.077 --> 00:26:59.260
I do have a book in me, as I realized in preparing for this podcast and writing down some information I wanted to share that you know we could be here all day, so so, yeah, that's that's.

00:26:59.260 --> 00:27:02.176
You know basically what I have um for today.

00:27:02.176 --> 00:27:03.196
If you have basically what I have for today.

00:27:03.196 --> 00:27:05.402
If you have anything else that you wanted to ask.

00:27:05.863 --> 00:27:08.818
Okay, well, I was going to touch on a few things that I thought were important.

00:27:08.818 --> 00:27:10.576
So, first of all, that's awesome with the journal.

00:27:10.576 --> 00:27:11.859
I love that and thank you.

00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:15.109
That's going to be super helpful, I think.

00:27:15.109 --> 00:27:20.636
A few things with the healing part, with the self-reflection and realizing it's not your fault.

00:27:20.636 --> 00:27:37.077
So one thing I was saying to my therapist I found myself saying I hate that I let myself get into that, and she's like no, no, no, you didn't do it and it made it sound like I was taking the accountability for getting into that relationship.

00:27:37.077 --> 00:27:37.921
So that's definitely part of healing.

00:27:37.941 --> 00:27:56.771
I think you realize when you get to a point where it's all about taking care of what's inside of you and not trying to convince other people of what happened or what is the truth, and you realize like that's it, they can choose to believe what they want to believe and you're at peace with that.

00:27:56.771 --> 00:28:01.163
I think that is a huge clue that you're you're really doing well with healing.

00:28:01.163 --> 00:28:03.397
It is super, super important.

00:28:03.397 --> 00:28:06.038
You kind of mentioned how there's the real him.

00:28:06.038 --> 00:28:17.634
So I think for people who are in these relationships, it's very important to understand that that person you met at the beginning, the love bombing person, that person is not a real person.

00:28:17.634 --> 00:28:29.580
That's the, the mask or the costume or whatever you want to call it that they're wearing to get you in and I know there's a quote and I know it's somebody important that said it.

00:28:29.580 --> 00:28:32.859
But it's when Someone shows you who they are the first time.

00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:43.651
Believe them, maya angelo, yes, okay, I thought it was her and I didn't want to say it because, because I wasn't sure it was her, and that's the thing, like the, the real person is who they're showing you at the end.

00:28:43.912 --> 00:29:07.455
This I talked about with someone in a previous episode is a lot of times, people think that victims are weak and that's why these abusers prey on specific people, and I think you mentioned it beautifully, and in the previous episode, we were trying to convey the same thing that it's they're looking for something within you that they want.

00:29:07.455 --> 00:29:14.099
They're parasites and they want to suck whatever energy it is that they see in you.

00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:15.560
They want that for themselves.

00:29:15.560 --> 00:29:19.923
So I think you mentioned that and you said it was great how you said that, said it was great how you said that.

00:29:19.923 --> 00:29:23.066
Oh, I think it's also important to like when they ask to get you back.

00:29:23.066 --> 00:29:25.248
It's not because they love you, it's not because they miss you.

00:29:25.248 --> 00:29:31.551
It's because they need to win.

00:29:31.551 --> 00:29:32.114
You're the possession.

00:29:32.114 --> 00:29:38.453
If they were not the one who decided that it was over and they were letting you go, then you need to come back to them so they can be the winner, more or less.

00:29:38.913 --> 00:30:01.682
I hate the fact that so many of us have had to go through these events that we've gone through to get to the point where we are, but I love what people have done with their trauma and their abuse and they've healed themselves and now they want to take it to the next step of you know, where we may have felt alone or we may have felt confused and unsure of what to do.

00:30:01.682 --> 00:30:18.016
I love how certain individuals are trying to make sure that someone else doesn't feel that same way and they're able to have the tools to understand that someone has forged this path ahead of you and they're here to help you get through it a little bit easier.

00:30:18.016 --> 00:30:19.078
I love what you're doing.

00:30:19.078 --> 00:30:20.371
I really appreciate what you're doing.

00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:21.712
Thank you Okay.

00:30:21.712 --> 00:30:25.859
Is there anything in closing that you want to share?

00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:30.092
Or I've covered a lot of it, I think you did.

00:30:30.753 --> 00:30:32.657
I also have a link to my Facebook there.

00:30:32.657 --> 00:30:38.438
If anybody wants to read what I've posted um that I'm including, and then I will be adding to that as well.

00:30:38.438 --> 00:30:40.613
If anybody wants to follow, or from me, that's.

00:30:40.613 --> 00:30:41.596
That's fine too.

00:30:41.596 --> 00:30:43.290
Thank you so much for having me.

00:30:43.290 --> 00:30:52.798
I really appreciate you inviting me, so I think it's super important that all of us are joining together to do this work Absolutely.

00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:54.722
Absolutely I appreciate it.

00:30:55.390 --> 00:30:56.953
Yes, thank you so much for coming on.

00:30:56.953 --> 00:31:03.630
I would like to once again thank Amanda for coming on one in three and sharing her experiences with us.

00:31:03.630 --> 00:31:05.835
Thank you for listening.

00:31:05.835 --> 00:31:09.722
I have shared the link to Amanda's profile in the show notes.

00:31:09.722 --> 00:31:14.739
I will be back next week with another episode and another guest.

00:31:14.739 --> 00:31:23.282
Until then, stay strong and wherever you are in your journey, always remember you are not alone.

00:31:23.282 --> 00:31:34.861
Find more information, register as a guest or leave a review by going to the website 1in3podcastcom that's the number 1-I-N-3podcastcom.

00:31:34.861 --> 00:31:39.882
Follow 1in3 on Instagram, facebook and Twitter at 1in3podcast.

00:31:39.882 --> 00:31:44.162
To help me out, please remember to rate, review and subscribe.

00:31:44.162 --> 00:31:50.193
1in3 is a .5 Pinoy production Music written and performed by Tim Crow.

00:31:50.193 --> 00:31:50.233
©.

00:31:50.233 --> 00:32:01.623
Transcript Emily Beynon.

Amanda Webb Profile Photo

Amanda Webb

Educator & Guide for Women’s Healing and Empowerment / Narcissistic Abuse Survivor

Amanda is an educator, advocate, and survivor of a narcissistic abusive marriage who has spent the last decade on a spiritual journey. Her personal experience has fueled her mission to raise awareness about narcissistic abuse and provide a pathway to healing for women who have endured similar relationships. Drawing from her background in education and her own transformative journey, Amanda is dedicated to empowering survivors with knowledge and strategies for reclaiming their lives and rebuilding their self-worth. Through shared stories, insights, and actionable tools, she aims to bring awareness, foster healing, and empower survivors to rebuild their lives with strength and purpose. Join and listen as she breaks the silence, finds solidarity, and uncovers pathways to lasting recovery. She is offering a free narcissistic abuse recovery journal for 1in3podcast listeners. Please click the globe link!