Recovery from a sociopath

Lovefraud recently received the following email from a man whom we'll call "Andrew." I recently met a lady out of the blue after I had sat at home alone for 2 years. She is the victim of a sociopath—reads & posts on the Lovefraud site trying to heal. She says she can't tell me all the damage done & I don't need to know—it's her business unless she feels she needs to share. She had cabin fever—had to get out for a night—hence our meeting. Well I had basically given up on finding someone until I met her. We instantly clicked. It was so good for 3 weeks—making plans of fun things to do. I thought it would help her heal—to go have fun again. I think she started liking me too much i …

Approaching someone who has been burned by a sociopathRead More

Editor's note: The following poems were sent to Lovefraud by the reader who goes by "Gia Rad." She describes herself as a "recovering people-pleaser, ex-victim, natural health practitioner, mother and survivor." Positive ”¦ by Gia Rad Today, I feel positive. Positive that a new era is emerging And I've left behind for good the hell I once lived with you. Positive that not every day and night is a nightmare in disguise. Today, I choose to smile at the rainbow And stand defiantly in the pouring rain As I'm positive, for the first time in ”¦ forever That I've survived what many don't, and will even blossom with time. Positive that I've learned to avoid your type And keep myself a …

Poetry–during and after the sociopathRead More

People who have been exposed to uncontrollable, traumatic events may try to control their environments by controlling what they eat. Read: Links between PTSD, eating disorders become stronger, require RNs to focus on assessment, on Nurse.com. Link supplied by a Lovefraud reader. …

PTSD and eating disordersRead More

By Joyce Alexander, RNP (retired) One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning came to mind today. Dr. Frankl wrote his book after spending time in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. He lost his wife, his family and most of his friends. His book was not just another list of the atrocities done by the Nazis, but a look at the emotional toll taken by the hopeless situations in the camps and how different people responded differently. I learned a lot from this book, and I highly recommend it for those who have suffered “hopeless” situations. "We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when fac …

Finding meaning in life from tragedyRead More

Few, if any, walk away from their experiences with psychopaths completely unscathed.  They may leave us bankrupt, homeless, or destitute.  They may feign victimization, as they continue to wage their assaults, further insulting what we actually endured at their hands.  Their thirst for destruction may be almost insatiable when it comes to us. Those are just the tangible losses.  Let us give equal time to the emotional confusion and trauma.  Many of us suffer from PTSD, depression, or serious physical medical concerns, as a result.  Living through experiences with psychopaths, or those with such features, is an incredible feat. While we tend to focus on the negative consequences, we shou …

Gain disguised as loss; healing after the stormRead More