UPDATED FOR 2021: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader who posts as “amhealing2012.” She ran across her disordered ex, and suddenly wanted to hug the sociopath. Why?
Miss Donna, I spoke by email to you about 2 years ago about a guy I had been dating. You confirmed he was indeed a sociopath.
I have had no contact at all for over a year and a half. Strangely he has been on my mind a lot the last few weeks, thinking I saw him and thinking about him. Today while coming out of the mall with my older daughter I heard his voice say, “I hope you found what you were looking for.” I turned and there he was with that cute grin on his face. IF not for my daughter being by me pushing me and saying, “mom just keep walking,” I would have gone and hugged him.
What the hell????? It was just like a magnet, drawing me to him!!! WHY??? After all this time and work on healing and no contact and reading and becoming wiser, WHY?
I KNOW he IS toxic refuse! His sweet facade is FAKE and underneath is venom!!! So WHY the draw and magnet after all this time? HOW do I heal and get totally free of his, whatever it is.
My daughter says it’s cuz some people like to be abused. NO I don’t think I do, I hate it, it hurts like hell and took about a year to get past the GREAT pain of his abuse and betrayal of me. I even had to leave the church I had been at for 5 years; he poisoned most of the leadership towards me and stalked whatever service I chose to go to.
Anyhow, making me angry. ~ I loved him and still do care about him, BUT know what he IS. Knowing that, WHY the magnet still? Am I not healed and not learned my lesson or what the hay??
I will hush now, just a bit shocked at my reaction. He texted my phone even a bit later to say, “It was a nice surprise seeing you.” ASS!! I almost answered saying I sensed I would see him. (As he has been heavily on my mind, as I said.)
I assumed it was the Lord warning me, but my reaction still surprised me. To be drawn to hug and warmly greet a freak??? Thank the Lord my daughter was with me.
After I found my brain I wondered what happened that I would even think of a warm anything towards him. My daughter yelled and told him to stay the f… away from me. I am sure that didn’t help challenging him. 🙁 sigh. HELP please.
Thank you Miss Donna and thank you for this site. Not sure where I would be or have been without it.
~ amhealing2012
P.S. ~ does this mean I am not healed or as far along as I thought I was????
Donna Andersen replies
Amhealing2012 —
Here’s the good news: You were tested, and you passed.
Yes, you had a bit of help from your daughter. I’m very glad she was there with you, and able to support you in the critical moment. But even though you were shocked by your own initial reaction, you quickly recovered.
You have no doubt about what is best for you continued No Contact.
You are not wondering if your assessment of him as toxic is wrong, and maybe he’s not so bad after all.
You are not hoping that he has changed, and you’ll be able to reunite and live happily ever after.
You are firm in your resolve that he is a no-good etc., etc., etc. (I loved your emphatic and colorful description.)
So why did you feel an initial urge to hug the sociopath?
Psychological bond
Human beings are social creatures. We are supposed to bond. This is how the human race survived and evolved over millennia — by living together. The mechanism that enables us to live together over a long period of time is bonding.
The bond that develops with romantic partners is especially powerful, and it has several components.
One component is the psychological bond. Early in the involvement, when everything is fabulous, your new romance brings you pleasure. Pleasure sparks attachment, which is the beginning of the psychological bond. This is normal and natural.
When your romantic partner is a sociopath, however, a couple of things are different.
Most sociopaths, when they have targeted someone, engage in relentless love bombing. They shower you with attention. They want to be around you all the time. They make you feel like the most important person in the world.
As a result, the pleasure you feel is intensified, which makes for a stronger psychological bond.
Fear and anxiety
Then, sociopaths do something to rock the romantic boat. Perhaps they suddenly disappear. Or you catch them flirting with someone else. Or they ask to borrow money and don’t pay you back. You feel worry or doubt about the relationship, which causes fear and/or anxiety.
Surprisingly, this fear and anxiety actuallymakes the psychological bond stronger.
You want the relationship to go back to those heady days in the beginning. So you try to resolve the issue, which, of course, the sociopath probably fabricated. Perhaps you even apologize for something that you didn’t do. Eventually you get back together, you feel relieved — and the psychological bond is strengthened again.
This becomes a continuing cycle of pleasure — fear and anxiety — relief. And with each turn of the wheel, the psychological bond you feel becomes stronger and stronger — until it is very difficult to break.
Your brain
In addition to the psychological aspects of bonding, there are also biological components.
We’ve written previously on Lovefraud about oxytocin. This is a hormone/neurotransmitter that causes us to feel calm, trusting and content, and alleviates fear and anxiety.
Oxytocin is released into our bloodstream and brain any time we experience intimacy — emotional sharing, physical touching and especially sex. As a result, we trust the individual who caused the spike in oxytocin.
Plus, when we have sex with someone, it causes structural changes in our brains, making this person important to us. Again, this is all normal. Mother Nature set this up to encourage parents to stay together to raise children, so that the human race could survive.
The point is that when you develop a love bond with someone, it is strong, deep and hooked into your brain.
At least that’s how you feel. Sociopaths do not bond the way the rest of us do. This is one reason why they are able to dump us and move on without looking back.
So Amhealing2012 when you suddenly and unexpectedly ran into your ex, it probably activated the remnants of the psychological and biological bond you once felt. Which is why you wanted to hug the sociopath.
More healing
You also asked if you are not yet healed. You have certainly made tremendous progress on your healing journey. But perhaps you do have a bit of mopping up to do.
You shouldn’t look at this encounter as a failure. You should look at it as an opportunity to clear out the last remaining remnants of the hold that this man once had on you.
You might also reflect on why this man was on your mind before you ran into him. You said you kept thinking about him — what were your thoughts? Where they positive or negative thoughts?
There are people who believe that we attract what we think about — and that’s why it’s important to use our willpower to control our thoughts.
Or, this might have been a lesson in listening to your intuition. Perhaps God — or your intuition (which I think are highly related) — was warning you that the guy was going to cross your path, so that you could be ready.
In any event, you did fine. Your initial impulse shocked you, but you did not act on that impulse. You put your emotional and psychological health first and stayed away from him.
I’m willing to bet that if you ever run into this man again, you’ll have no desire to hug the sociopath.
Lovefraud originally published this article on October 20, 2014.
Oh My, I can relate to this so much. It’s been over 7 years since I last saw my X. I think of him everyday, many times a day. I have dreams of him and they are never good dreams. I miss what he so cleverly portrayed as love, the companionship – ever so fleeting. The things we all yearn for in a relationship, the things I never thought I would ever realize. There were so many things about him that were endearing.
Sure I know all about the red flags now, they were sticking out of him like a forth of july parade. But in my opinion you never forget the violation of something so personal. It changed who I am, maybe for the better, maybe not. I don’t try to forget or get over him, I don’t think any of us should. Would I hug him? Hmm probably, but I would put my finger to his lips so he would not speak. It’s the monster inside him that speaks that I fear. But yes I would embrace him with the hope that I feel nothing…..
I can relate to those dreams hens. Thankfully, I don’t remember my dreams very often but occasionally, I will have one about him that I remember. As you say, they are never good. Deception, emptiness, desire and hope that always ends up dashed and the loneliness afterwards. The only dream I have remembered fully in an entire decade was one I had about him right after the charade ended. 3 years ago and I still remember it as clearly as when I dreamed it. I consider that a scientific mystery.
Your post is sad and poignant and well understood. He does not deserve your hug. Believe me, he wouldn’t feel it in the way it was meant, only as a sexual come-on for what? A controlled experienced devoid of love, a rape. The way our minds, oxytocin, endorphins, needs, play tricks on us needs to be studied and researched.
Best thoughts and honest, genuine hugs to you, hens.
I’m interested to hear about your dream if you’d like to share it with us? I’ve had several nightmares that I’ve found to be messages from my subconscious mind and warnings not to “hug the spath” if I see him…
Sure, under. It has been over 3 yrs but as I said I recall it as if it were yesterday and I never remember my dreams. That makes me wonder what power they have or reaction we have to their behavior that allows them to impact us so strongly that they actually become imprinted upon our brains. I can’t believe I am able to remember that dream so well. There is something chemical going on in the brain that should be studied.
In the dream, it was Xmas time. Path was standing next to the door of our office holding a grocery bag (brown paper). He was returning from lunch w/the bag and just smiling that office smile I came to hate. It was phony and vile. I was walking down the hall and just looked at him and asked, “Lunch?” He replied, “No…..not lunch….” I just kept walking past him to the ladies room as I knew that look and that tone and he was about to say something I didn’t want to hear. That part of the dream had actually happened for real. He would say something to me that was so telling of strong feelings for me if it were from a non-path, then the next day, or rest of that day, just ignore my existence or he would follow it up with a distancing comment. When he had the queer smile on his face, I knew he was going to say or do something that was going to hurt or confuse me. So I learned to just bypass it by walking away or ignoring him.
Now for the dream part. I was sitting in what I suppose was my cubicle, and the bag he held was at my feet; in his standoffish style, he didn’t hand it to me, I just found it there. It was full of debris from the ground esp those dried brown round thistles, sticks, dirt. There was a long piece of what looked like petrified wood shaped a little like the butt of a gun (long
scalene triangle) and very uneven and a little bumpy, a little twisted. Perhaps this was a phallic symbol?
I was confused about both the receipt of and contents of the gift. As I was going thru it, he said, “That was very presumptuous of you.” I took that to mean, it was presumptuous of me to think the gift was for me.
In looking at the dream now, I think I was seeing how he really felt about me, pretending that he cared but not caring at all. Then tying it all up with a bigger slap in the face to confuse, confound and hurt.
It makes me sick to think about that dream. I did post it out here before but wanted to respond to your request. Crazy.
Not crazy at all! None of us are we’re just damaged…
Your description gave me the full visual effect so you did a stellar job putting it in writing. I’ve done a little research into dream interpretation and I’ve been told when we wake our instincts are sharp enough to give us true meaning. If you can remember it so vividly and your response to it than you have got the message.
I have dreams that carry messages but don’t remember them long term. I suppose it’s because I receive a vision while awake, on occasion, and know what it means immediately – I’ve been asked how I know but I can’t answer other than to say that I just know, then it happens. The last one was when my spath was accused of child sexual assault. I knew he was guilty but also knew there would be another child come forth – I just knew! Within a couple of months the second one confessed… now I’ve seen a third but this time I’m not so sure. A vision to me is something like your dream. I can remember it from every angle and as if it just happened, this one takes effort so I’m thinking that I’m just wishing that one? Time will tell…
Thanks for sharing that experience as it’s a reminder that my instincts are right and I don’t need any proof 🙂
Lol. So six years later, I doubt that anyone will read this. But, after separating from my monster ex, I had a recurring dream about flying and then having a dark eagle grip my shoulders and drive me down into a dark, menacing forest. I know that the forest was my own anger and sense of betrayal, I knew that with the first dream. But it came back, and the second time, my body’s natural sleep paralysis had to work so hard that I woke up with a broken tooth next to my bf who didn’t understand why I was sobbing about wanting to be free.
And I also learned that you should be careful with what you tell someone
new. Don’t tell a new guy that the last guy hit, hurt, or damaged you. Monkey see, monkey do. It’s a sad cycle of needing healing. But heal first, and pretty fully before you move on.
There are some angels who will make it better, but humans are animals, and it’s easy for the best of us to become prey.
The one thing I like about technology is that there are safe, anonymous spaces for healing.
Thank you to everyone here for sharing their stories and vulnerability.
Bless you all. 💞🙏💞
osy
10 years ago
Good that you manage to escape. I am trying hard to break bonds with my sociopath boyfriend. It was easy for me to leave my husband because he manage to traumatize me enough. With my sociopath boyfriend who is now married to someone else, I find it very difficult. I think it is because he always manage to get high oxytocin levels every time we had sex. I know very well all he wants is money to go through law school and a place to live. I paid for his wedding recently and his friends and cousins were mad at me. Not surprising he sneaks around his unknowing fiancé now wife. He enjoys the trill of betraying. Comes to my place with his wife and sneaks into my room. I find it very difficult to cut off this relationship and miss him when “he doesn’t need me.” I think it is the oxytocin. I need to get out soon.
I know that power they have, although I was the wife in your situation. I did AND DO WISH that one of the girls was so disgusted with his behavior that they had the guts to tell me what was going on… just saying…
under, so you were the wife of a cheating socio? I wanted so many x to contact this guy’s wife but figured she knew he was a no good, cheating psycho.
hens
10 years ago
Hi Still reeling…Thank you for your comments. The sex with the X, was just sex, he didn’t know how to make love or have foreplay etc. Oh, I am sure our oxytocin levels were raging but I was always waiting for that special connection, the bond two people have when they are in love. I was sure I was in love with him, but I never felt loved in return. I just felt used, like I had to perform 110% to keep his attention. As I look back on those years I realize how lonely I was and way to needy. I think that is my biggest regret, that I put so much of myself out there for him to exploit. All the while knowing I was just an option to him. I wasted so many years waiting on him to be who he said he was – lol – what a fool I was.
My spath is trying everything to get me back, crying for 3 hours straight while he talks me into a mind blank. I can only look back over the 14 years I tried everything to feel like I was important to him so I can relate to your giving 110% without ever getting anywhere. It’s sad that we spend so much time, so much of our lives wasted on something that will never change… if we’d listened to our instincts in the early days, I’d have to wonder where I’d be now, happier I’d say as those years took my innocence and there’s no return to that.
You said it all hens, in a nutshell and I relate to it 100%, the desire to ignite the bond that you know will never happen. All the energy it takes to perform, as you said, 110%, in an effort to bring him close emotionally, when that is never a possibility. It’s human nature not to want to walk away from a project, love or otherwise! But your path is not human, and as you said, no matter how loving or kind or adoring you are, he is not capable of doing anything but exploiting and taking advantage of you for his own purposes and gain. They are without the means but the worst part is that they can fake it and draw you in, only to spit you out once you’ve been used. And, of course, I mean “you” in the collective sense as well.
I recall being so confused by the path in my life. He’d come on to me, flirt, act as if he was drawn to me, asked me to go away w/him, etc. I could feel myself blossom w/euphoria, knowing that someone like “him” was taken with me. Then he’d make a statement like, “You know, you should think about moving to California. You’d love it there.” I’d think, “Whaaaaaat” You just asked me to leave town w/you and now you’re saying I should move away. I will NEVER understand why I didn’t ask him on the spot, why he would act in this contradictory way so very often. But I know he would have said something like, “Reeling, that was hypothetical, I know you aren’t going anywhere.” They are slick, slick, slick until they get caught and mine did. I so not wish him anything but a mental institution. He belongs away from others where he can’t do any harm. Knowing him, he’d wreak havoc there as well. And the corporate world loves socios, esp today when are all so extra greedy, laying people off who are begging to keep their pathetic little jobs. It’s exactly the type of person they want.
I wish you love hens and I’m glad to read below that your focus changed to taking care of you, not “it,” and that you are doing well. Of course we don’t forget their impact on our lives but it does fade. It surely has for me, but I do not feel sorry for that thing, and am extra wary of anyone I meet that waves even a pink flag. I have a boss now who does show some signs of narc behavior, not interested in me, but does affect me very strongly. Trying to find a new job because of him. It’s a bad situation. Take care, hens and thanks for sharing.
hens
10 years ago
Undertheradar, Your X must be running out of option’s. Don’t listen to him, don’t go down that road again. My X tried to get back into my life several times, he even cut his wrist to prove his love for me, and yes I fell for that pity ploy as well. He was a very troubled soul, the reason it lasted as long as it did was because I felt sorry for him.
In the beginning of my so called journey, all the focus was on him and why, how could he do that. But I turned the focus on me and how, why could I let him do that to me. I learned alot about myself, it was a very tough life lesson. I am a stronger person and I am doing well. Not sure why I am back here again. I so wanted to get over and forget that painfull chapter in my life, I don’t think forgetting is as important as surviving and living life the best you can.
undertheradar
10 years ago
Hens
I’m having trouble receiving notifications so sorry for the delay…
Thanks for sharing your story of pity with me as that is exactly how I feel when he’s “faking” the poor soul that lost his wife!
I do see myself as moving on from all of this and one day not ever looking back with any emotional involvement – you give me hope!
ophelia
3 years ago
Many years ago, I told a psychologist that I remembered being 6-7 years old and digging my nails into my (narcissistic) Mother’s hand at church. She said, “Ow!” And I said, “”Mommy, I’m so sorry.” And I kissed her hand ‘better’.
I thought maybe I was just a sick, messed-up person. My psychologist said, “No. You were trying to teach her compassion.”
I think you wanted to hug your ex because kind people want to teach and receive compassion.
That is rarely an option with a narcissist…and never an option with a sociopath.
So, I’m sending you a big hug. Because, I get it. And because you need a hug. 💞
After the Sociopath, Honour, Respect and Love Yourself
Oh My, I can relate to this so much. It’s been over 7 years since I last saw my X. I think of him everyday, many times a day. I have dreams of him and they are never good dreams. I miss what he so cleverly portrayed as love, the companionship – ever so fleeting. The things we all yearn for in a relationship, the things I never thought I would ever realize. There were so many things about him that were endearing.
Sure I know all about the red flags now, they were sticking out of him like a forth of july parade. But in my opinion you never forget the violation of something so personal. It changed who I am, maybe for the better, maybe not. I don’t try to forget or get over him, I don’t think any of us should. Would I hug him? Hmm probably, but I would put my finger to his lips so he would not speak. It’s the monster inside him that speaks that I fear. But yes I would embrace him with the hope that I feel nothing…..
I can relate to those dreams hens. Thankfully, I don’t remember my dreams very often but occasionally, I will have one about him that I remember. As you say, they are never good. Deception, emptiness, desire and hope that always ends up dashed and the loneliness afterwards. The only dream I have remembered fully in an entire decade was one I had about him right after the charade ended. 3 years ago and I still remember it as clearly as when I dreamed it. I consider that a scientific mystery.
Your post is sad and poignant and well understood. He does not deserve your hug. Believe me, he wouldn’t feel it in the way it was meant, only as a sexual come-on for what? A controlled experienced devoid of love, a rape. The way our minds, oxytocin, endorphins, needs, play tricks on us needs to be studied and researched.
Best thoughts and honest, genuine hugs to you, hens.
Still reeling
I’m interested to hear about your dream if you’d like to share it with us? I’ve had several nightmares that I’ve found to be messages from my subconscious mind and warnings not to “hug the spath” if I see him…
Sure, under. It has been over 3 yrs but as I said I recall it as if it were yesterday and I never remember my dreams. That makes me wonder what power they have or reaction we have to their behavior that allows them to impact us so strongly that they actually become imprinted upon our brains. I can’t believe I am able to remember that dream so well. There is something chemical going on in the brain that should be studied.
In the dream, it was Xmas time. Path was standing next to the door of our office holding a grocery bag (brown paper). He was returning from lunch w/the bag and just smiling that office smile I came to hate. It was phony and vile. I was walking down the hall and just looked at him and asked, “Lunch?” He replied, “No…..not lunch….” I just kept walking past him to the ladies room as I knew that look and that tone and he was about to say something I didn’t want to hear. That part of the dream had actually happened for real. He would say something to me that was so telling of strong feelings for me if it were from a non-path, then the next day, or rest of that day, just ignore my existence or he would follow it up with a distancing comment. When he had the queer smile on his face, I knew he was going to say or do something that was going to hurt or confuse me. So I learned to just bypass it by walking away or ignoring him.
Now for the dream part. I was sitting in what I suppose was my cubicle, and the bag he held was at my feet; in his standoffish style, he didn’t hand it to me, I just found it there. It was full of debris from the ground esp those dried brown round thistles, sticks, dirt. There was a long piece of what looked like petrified wood shaped a little like the butt of a gun (long
scalene triangle) and very uneven and a little bumpy, a little twisted. Perhaps this was a phallic symbol?
I was confused about both the receipt of and contents of the gift. As I was going thru it, he said, “That was very presumptuous of you.” I took that to mean, it was presumptuous of me to think the gift was for me.
In looking at the dream now, I think I was seeing how he really felt about me, pretending that he cared but not caring at all. Then tying it all up with a bigger slap in the face to confuse, confound and hurt.
It makes me sick to think about that dream. I did post it out here before but wanted to respond to your request. Crazy.
Still reeling
Not crazy at all! None of us are we’re just damaged…
Your description gave me the full visual effect so you did a stellar job putting it in writing. I’ve done a little research into dream interpretation and I’ve been told when we wake our instincts are sharp enough to give us true meaning. If you can remember it so vividly and your response to it than you have got the message.
I have dreams that carry messages but don’t remember them long term. I suppose it’s because I receive a vision while awake, on occasion, and know what it means immediately – I’ve been asked how I know but I can’t answer other than to say that I just know, then it happens. The last one was when my spath was accused of child sexual assault. I knew he was guilty but also knew there would be another child come forth – I just knew! Within a couple of months the second one confessed… now I’ve seen a third but this time I’m not so sure. A vision to me is something like your dream. I can remember it from every angle and as if it just happened, this one takes effort so I’m thinking that I’m just wishing that one? Time will tell…
Thanks for sharing that experience as it’s a reminder that my instincts are right and I don’t need any proof 🙂
Lol. So six years later, I doubt that anyone will read this. But, after separating from my monster ex, I had a recurring dream about flying and then having a dark eagle grip my shoulders and drive me down into a dark, menacing forest. I know that the forest was my own anger and sense of betrayal, I knew that with the first dream. But it came back, and the second time, my body’s natural sleep paralysis had to work so hard that I woke up with a broken tooth next to my bf who didn’t understand why I was sobbing about wanting to be free.
And I also learned that you should be careful with what you tell someone
new. Don’t tell a new guy that the last guy hit, hurt, or damaged you. Monkey see, monkey do. It’s a sad cycle of needing healing. But heal first, and pretty fully before you move on.
There are some angels who will make it better, but humans are animals, and it’s easy for the best of us to become prey.
The one thing I like about technology is that there are safe, anonymous spaces for healing.
Thank you to everyone here for sharing their stories and vulnerability.
Bless you all. 💞🙏💞
Good that you manage to escape. I am trying hard to break bonds with my sociopath boyfriend. It was easy for me to leave my husband because he manage to traumatize me enough. With my sociopath boyfriend who is now married to someone else, I find it very difficult. I think it is because he always manage to get high oxytocin levels every time we had sex. I know very well all he wants is money to go through law school and a place to live. I paid for his wedding recently and his friends and cousins were mad at me. Not surprising he sneaks around his unknowing fiancé now wife. He enjoys the trill of betraying. Comes to my place with his wife and sneaks into my room. I find it very difficult to cut off this relationship and miss him when “he doesn’t need me.” I think it is the oxytocin. I need to get out soon.
Osy
I know that power they have, although I was the wife in your situation. I did AND DO WISH that one of the girls was so disgusted with his behavior that they had the guts to tell me what was going on… just saying…
under, so you were the wife of a cheating socio? I wanted so many x to contact this guy’s wife but figured she knew he was a no good, cheating psycho.
Hi Still reeling…Thank you for your comments. The sex with the X, was just sex, he didn’t know how to make love or have foreplay etc. Oh, I am sure our oxytocin levels were raging but I was always waiting for that special connection, the bond two people have when they are in love. I was sure I was in love with him, but I never felt loved in return. I just felt used, like I had to perform 110% to keep his attention. As I look back on those years I realize how lonely I was and way to needy. I think that is my biggest regret, that I put so much of myself out there for him to exploit. All the while knowing I was just an option to him. I wasted so many years waiting on him to be who he said he was – lol – what a fool I was.
Hens
My spath is trying everything to get me back, crying for 3 hours straight while he talks me into a mind blank. I can only look back over the 14 years I tried everything to feel like I was important to him so I can relate to your giving 110% without ever getting anywhere. It’s sad that we spend so much time, so much of our lives wasted on something that will never change… if we’d listened to our instincts in the early days, I’d have to wonder where I’d be now, happier I’d say as those years took my innocence and there’s no return to that.
You said it all hens, in a nutshell and I relate to it 100%, the desire to ignite the bond that you know will never happen. All the energy it takes to perform, as you said, 110%, in an effort to bring him close emotionally, when that is never a possibility. It’s human nature not to want to walk away from a project, love or otherwise! But your path is not human, and as you said, no matter how loving or kind or adoring you are, he is not capable of doing anything but exploiting and taking advantage of you for his own purposes and gain. They are without the means but the worst part is that they can fake it and draw you in, only to spit you out once you’ve been used. And, of course, I mean “you” in the collective sense as well.
I recall being so confused by the path in my life. He’d come on to me, flirt, act as if he was drawn to me, asked me to go away w/him, etc. I could feel myself blossom w/euphoria, knowing that someone like “him” was taken with me. Then he’d make a statement like, “You know, you should think about moving to California. You’d love it there.” I’d think, “Whaaaaaat” You just asked me to leave town w/you and now you’re saying I should move away. I will NEVER understand why I didn’t ask him on the spot, why he would act in this contradictory way so very often. But I know he would have said something like, “Reeling, that was hypothetical, I know you aren’t going anywhere.” They are slick, slick, slick until they get caught and mine did. I so not wish him anything but a mental institution. He belongs away from others where he can’t do any harm. Knowing him, he’d wreak havoc there as well. And the corporate world loves socios, esp today when are all so extra greedy, laying people off who are begging to keep their pathetic little jobs. It’s exactly the type of person they want.
I wish you love hens and I’m glad to read below that your focus changed to taking care of you, not “it,” and that you are doing well. Of course we don’t forget their impact on our lives but it does fade. It surely has for me, but I do not feel sorry for that thing, and am extra wary of anyone I meet that waves even a pink flag. I have a boss now who does show some signs of narc behavior, not interested in me, but does affect me very strongly. Trying to find a new job because of him. It’s a bad situation. Take care, hens and thanks for sharing.
Undertheradar, Your X must be running out of option’s. Don’t listen to him, don’t go down that road again. My X tried to get back into my life several times, he even cut his wrist to prove his love for me, and yes I fell for that pity ploy as well. He was a very troubled soul, the reason it lasted as long as it did was because I felt sorry for him.
In the beginning of my so called journey, all the focus was on him and why, how could he do that. But I turned the focus on me and how, why could I let him do that to me. I learned alot about myself, it was a very tough life lesson. I am a stronger person and I am doing well. Not sure why I am back here again. I so wanted to get over and forget that painfull chapter in my life, I don’t think forgetting is as important as surviving and living life the best you can.
Hens
I’m having trouble receiving notifications so sorry for the delay…
Thanks for sharing your story of pity with me as that is exactly how I feel when he’s “faking” the poor soul that lost his wife!
I do see myself as moving on from all of this and one day not ever looking back with any emotional involvement – you give me hope!
Many years ago, I told a psychologist that I remembered being 6-7 years old and digging my nails into my (narcissistic) Mother’s hand at church. She said, “Ow!” And I said, “”Mommy, I’m so sorry.” And I kissed her hand ‘better’.
I thought maybe I was just a sick, messed-up person. My psychologist said, “No. You were trying to teach her compassion.”
I think you wanted to hug your ex because kind people want to teach and receive compassion.
That is rarely an option with a narcissist…and never an option with a sociopath.
So, I’m sending you a big hug. Because, I get it. And because you need a hug. 💞