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

By Olga Rodriguez Every time I post on LF; I predictably get a text from the sociopath saying something negative; sure enough after the last posting (Now I can honestly say to a victim, 'I understand how you feel') I got one. I recall having a conversation with the sociopath back when we were still together. I was expressing my love of writing. I said I'd love to write a book sometime. His response was, “Me too.” I asked why and he said, “Just so I can say I wrote a book.” Bragging rights, I guess! I asked, “Would you care if it sold or not? “ He said, “No!” I explained that my reward would be having someone, even if it was just one person, say, “That book changed my life.” Or I'd like …

Sometimes, harassment by the sociopath just isn’t importantRead More

I can't believe that it is Labor Day. Here in the U.S., it's the holiday that marks the end of summer, and all I can wonder is, where did the summer go? Yesterday, my husband, Terry, complained about a "time leak"—he swears that an hour is now only 40 minutes long. Actually, of course, time keeps moving at the same pace, with the exception of the "leap second" added on June 30, 2012. (This apparently caused software problems all over the Internet.) Yes, time marches on—and we can use this to our advantage in recovering from the sociopath. Involvements with sociopaths cause serious damage to our emotions, psychology, health, finances, social connections—to our very lives.  We can recove …

Time and recovery from sociopathsRead More