The Mother of all Problems

Introduction In my last post I touched on the impact of my father's favouritism. All three of us have (or have had) relationship breakdowns with my father and none of us have made it into adulthood without issues. As a child, I was the one selected to prop-up his ego, not because I was particularly special in any way, but because I was his oldest son. I grew up with an skewed view on life, finding it difficult to express or defend my opinions, and leaving me vulnerable to other narcissists . After I grew too old for these duties, I started a life with a new narcissist, later to be known as "my wife, and more recently, ex-wife", or just "The Witch" for short. My father had picked out a replacement favourite from his 2nd wife's granddaughters (let's call her Anthea), and I suddenly found him difficult to deal with. The day my first son was born, I called my Dad to tell him the news. I'd hoped he'd be as excited as I was, but all he wante...

You've just met someone new and they seem absolutely perfect,.. your dream partner. It's full on, it's exciting and they tell you how great you are together.   Out of the blue, they reveal something bad that happened to them. Now you feel angry, yet more emotionally connected and determined to help them through it. But, stop and think... There's a few things going on here that I've experienced a number of times. You might find it hugely flattering that somebody seems to feel so strongly about you, but stop for a second and consider, is this how normal people act, or does it just feel too good to be true? And why did they rush into telling you their dark secret? Let's take things one point at a time. 1. They seem perfect for you. What are the odds that you actually have found someone who's a perfect match in every way? They might:- like your music tastes. like the TV shows you watch. fit in too well with your friends and family. share you...