Breaking Free from Narcissistic Abuse
This podcast helps listeners understand and recover from narcissistic abuse. Hosted by retired psychologist Dr. Kerry McAvoy, it explores the dynamics of toxic relationships, manipulative tactics, and stages of abuse. The show offers practical steps for healing and reclaiming self-worth. It aims to provide emotional freedom for those who have experienced such relationships.
Episodes
Why Narcissists Need Ongoing Drama: It's All About Keeping You Exhausted & Under Control
Feeling trapped in a toxic relationship? Get my free guide, Still Torn? 7 Signs You’re Emotionally Trapped: https://7-signs.subscribepage.io/Have you noticed how the narcissist’s apology never is an apology? How yesterday's fight get rewritten so you’re the villain?In this episode, Kerry and Lynn Strathdee expose the hidden mechanics behind chronic antagonism. Why some narcissists need ongoin
Reactive Abuse: 4 Questions That Reveal Who Was Really the Dangerous One in the Room
ARE YOU FEELING STUCK?Take the FREE “Toxic or Troubled?” survey to discover your relationship type and get instant access to a complete, private mini-course—educational overviews, reflective questions, grounding techniques, and new strategies tailored to your situation.▶ Start here: https://kerrymcavoyphd.fillout.com/toxic-troubled-surveyReactive abuse isn't a sign you've become the abus
Dr. Les Carter: Stop Trying to Make a Narcissist Understand You — Do This Instead
Are You Feeling Stuck?Take my FREE “Toxic or Troubled?” survey to discover your relationship type and get instant access to a complete, private mini-course—educational overviews, reflective questions, grounding techniques, and new strategies tailored to your situation.▶ Start here: https://kerrymcavoyphd.fillout.com/toxic-troubled-survey——What if every explanation you offer becomes ammunition? Hav
They Didn't Miss You, They Ran Out of Money: How Hoovering Actually Works
Future faking hoovering isn't a change of heart. It's a second round of grooming, aimed at exactly what the first round wanted.In this highlight from Kerry's weekly live Q&A, she takes on what's actually happening when someone shows up with flowers, apologies and a raked pile of leaves after months of silence — and why the answer has almost nothing to do with you.In this ep
Narcissist, Psychopath, or Sadist? Does Naming Your Abuser's Personality Type Actually Help?
What if naming the disorder never actually got you out? And what if the thing you've been calling proof was really just a way to feel in control?In this episode, Kerry and co-host Lynn Strathdee take on the debate splitting the recovery world right now — one universal predator type, or many distinct subtypes.You can know exactly what someone is and stay anyway. You can't choose your neig
Gray Divorce and the 30-Year Con: Why Covert Narcissists Never Wanted You to Leave
Gray divorce isn't a midlife crisis. For a lot of people, it's the end of a con that ran for decades.When researchers ask why people divorce after 50, the top answer from women isn't money or infidelity — it was abuse.In this highlight from Kerry's weekly live Q&A, she takes on why so many people stay in psychologically abusive marriages for 20 or 30 years, and why leaving
Narcissistic Love Withdrawal: Why You Chase Their Affection and Lose Yourself
Why did you do things you swore you'd never do, just to get their love back?In this episode, Kerry and researcher Dr. Karen Mitchell unpack why affection from a narcissistic or predatory partner can feel like a drug. It's intense and strategic, and then it's suddenly withdrawn. They also explore who predatory people target: honest, kind-hearted people. And why recovery can take yea
DARVO Exposed: How Manipulators Make YOU the Abuser When You Confront Them
Why did the narcissist’s collapse look so real — curled on the floor, shaking, sweating, begging you not to leave — yet nothing changed after?What looks like a breakdown is often a temporary loss of status, not a loss of identity — the defensive structure drops for 30 seconds, then rapidly reconsolidates and the manipulation continues. This is a highlight from a recent live Q&A, repurposed her
Why Narcissists Ruin Your Sleep: Don't Miss This Nasty Bedtime Control Tactic
What if the reason you feel like you're always “nagging” has nothing to do with you being difficult — and everything to do with deliberate provocation?In this episode, Dr. Kerry McAvoy and Lynn Strathdee break down the hidden mechanics behind pathological provocation — why abusers poke, prod, and sabotage your boundaries at bedtime and beyond. How they insist on misunderstanding you, wear you
I Treated Narcissists for Years and Never Saw a Collapse — Here's What Really Happens
Why did the narcissist’s collapse look so real — curled on the floor, shaking, sweating, begging you not to leave — yet nothing changed after?What looks like a breakdown is often a temporary loss of status, not a loss of identity — the defensive structure drops for 30 seconds, then rapidly reconsolidates and the manipulation continues. This is a highlight from a recent live Q&A, repurposed her
He Fooled Every Therapist in the Room — What No One Warns You (feat. Chelsey Brooke Cole)
What if the trait everyone praises you for is the exact one the narcissist is scanning for?That isn’t naivety. That isn’t missing the red flags. Agreeableness — assuming people are honest, wanting harmony, believing no one would be cruel on purpose — is a readable personality profile, and predators read it faster than you can.In this episode, Kerry sits down with therapist and author Chelsey Brook
The Family Scapegoat: Why You Were Chosen, and Why It Was Never About You
Why does one person in the family end up carrying everything — the blame, the mood, the thing nobody will say out loud? That wasn't a flaw in you. That was a role, and someone cast you in it. Scapegoating is bullying that a family agrees not to stop, and it works because it holds the group together at your expense.This is a highlight from a recent live Q&A, repurposed here as our second w
How Narcissists Pick Their Victims in Under an Hour
What if it only takes him an hour to know exactly how to control you?That wasn't chemistry. That wasn't "instant connection." A predator ran a background check on your character to know if you had the exact traits he needs to exploit.In this episode, Dr. Kerry sits down with returning author and expert, Don Hennessy. Hennessy has spent decades working directly with abusive men.
Rumination After Narcissistic Abuse: Why Your Mind Won't Stop, and How to Break the Loop
Why do you keep replaying a relationship that's already over — running the same five minutes on a loop, searching for the one detail that will finally make sense of it?That wasn't you overthinking. That was your nervous system trying to close a case file that has no ending. You survived a partner who gaslit you and switched faces so that the "true" version of them was never ver
The Narcissist Relationship Cycle: Why They Get Bored and Repeat It
What if the reason they keep coming back to you has nothing to do with love — and everything to do with boredom? In this episode, Dr. Kerry and Lynn Strathdee break down the internal clock that drives narcissistic relationship cycles. How pathological partners idealize, withdraw, only to circle back. This isn’t about the victim—it’s about the dysfunctional nature of the abuser. Podcast Extra Excl
The Narcissist’s Hit-And-Run Tactic: Why They Leave You Feeling Crazy
They said they'd "never talk to you again" — like it was a boundary. Like it was healthy. But the silence never actually stayed silent. Behind your back, a different story was already being told behind your back.And when you reach out, you’re blocked.This is a smear campaign with a "no contact" mask on.This episode, Dr. Kerry McAvoy reads from your stories — real accounts
Divorce Attorney Diana Romanov: Why Being Nice to a Narcissist Can Leave You Homeless
The divorce papers are signed. The marriage is over. But for survivors of narcissistic abuse, the legal system is often where the abuse escalates — not ends. In this conversation, Kerry McAvoy and Family Law Attorney Diana Romanov decode the legal tactics narcissists weaponize after you leave. How conflict avoidance becomes your abuser’s most powerful legal advantage. Learn how the earliest red f
Feed Swap: Beneath the Apology — Shame, Image & the Illusion of Empathy with Renee Swanson & Dr. Mazella
Why does their apology leave you feeling like the one who did something wrong? \Continuing this week's feed swap, I'm sharing a conversation from Renee Swanson's Covert Narcissism Podcast — this time a guest interview with Dr. Anthony Mazzella, a psychodynamic therapist and host of The Narcissism Decoder. Together they get underneath the behavior to the "why," unpacking wh
The Financial Abuse Tactic Narcissists Use When They 'Have No Money
They said they were managing the finances — because you weren't good with money.That every purchase had to go through them. But somehow, there was always money for what they wanted.They made you feel like a child asking for an allowance — in your own home. And the moment you tried to leave, you realized you had nothing. Because they had made sure of it. That wasn't financial stress. That
How Narcissists Use Love Bombing to Build a Financial Trap
He checked the grocery receipt. And the look on his face said everything: he expected to catch you at something. You weren't a partner. You were a suspected thief. But that moment — that first time money became a surveillance tool — didn't come out of nowhere. It didn't start with the receipts, or the interrogations, or the separate account he opened without telling you. It started
Narcissistic Parents Don't Love Their Children — They Use Them
They said they were managing the finances — because you weren't good with money. That every purchase had to go through them. But somehow, there was always money for what they wanted. They made you feel like a child asking for an allowance — in your own home. And the moment you tried to leave, you realized you had nothing. Because they had made sure of it. That wasn't financial stress. Th
When Your Narcissistic Ex Weaponizes Your Children in Their Smear Campaign
Your child comes home from a visit with the other parent guarded. Repeating things they couldn't have come up with on their own. Now they’re looking at you differently. That's not just "divorce being hard." That's a smear campaign — and your narcissistic ex has recruited your own children to run it. This week, Dr. Josh Davis — neuroscientist, psychologist, and author of Th
Feed Swap: Covert Narcissist Relationships — When You Can't Live the Lie Anymore with Renee Swanson
If you can name the patterns and see the behaviors, have you wondered why do you still feel so stuck?This week I'm sharing an episode from Renee Swanson of the Covert Narcissism Podcast — a feed swap I wanted to bring straight to this community. Renee unpacks what she calls "hitting the wall": the moment you can no longer live the lie in a covert narcissistic relationship, when you
When Narcissists Weaponize Food: What Survivors Need to Hear
Food shouldn't feel like a threat — but for narcissistic abuse survivors, it often does.In this viewer stories episode, survivors share exactly how the narcissist in their life weaponized food — turning meals into rituals of control, criticism, and shame. Kerry shares her own experience too. If mealtime ever filled you with dread, this episode will name what you lived through and show you why
The Real Reason Narcissists Make Food About Control
Food is the most primal human need — and narcissists know it. The demands that ruin a vacation. The meal that is never made right. The praise given once, then withheld forever. These are calculated moves in a much larger control strategy.In this conversation, Kerry McAvoy and co-host Lynn S. decode the psychology behind narcissistic food control: why it is never actually about the food, how narcis
Harmless Joke? No, It Was Sadism & Why Your Body Spotted the Truth First
That flash of something is wrong you couldn't quite explain? Your body caught it before your mind could argue you down.In this Viewers' Stories episode, Dr. Kerry McAvoy reacts to a so-called "prank" a husband pulled on his wife — secretly serving her breast milk in their guests' coffee, then bringing her breakfast in bed: toast smeared with their newborn's poop in pl
How Dangerous Predators Hide Sadism in Plain Sight - Joe Navarro, Former FBI Agent
The most dangerous narcissists don’t go ballistic: they peck you to death.After spending decades studying dangerous personalities, former FBI agent Joe Navarro has learned that the cruelest narcissistic abuse almost never looks the way we expect. It hides behind the withheld compliment, the public put-down disguised as a joke, the silent treatment and the affection that never comes.In this conver
Your Birthday Was Rigged to Fail: How Narcissists Sabotage Special Days
It's your special day. Your birthday. Maybe the narcissist participated in the build-out or maybe they pretended not to notice. But you knew. And you got your hopes up. Perhaps this birthday will go differently. What you didn't expect was to spend the rest of your birthday managing their feelings.In this Viewers' Stories episode, Dr. Kerry shares submitted accounts of birthdays that
Why Narcissists Destroy Your Best Days — It's Not Forgetfulness, It's Sadism
The ruined birthday. The wrecked anniversary. The gift left in a drawer. It wasn't thoughtlessness.Dr. Kerry sits down with psychodynamic psychotherapist Lynn Strathdee to break down one of the most painful — and least-named — patterns in narcissistic relationships: the deliberate destruction of special occasions.Lynn identifies the core drive as pleasure at being the cause — a compulsion roo
Narcissists Perfect at Hiding Cheating Because They Perfect at Lying to You
In this Viewers' Stories episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks the psychological damage done by narcissistic abuse, especially when you’re living with a partner who’s keeping a secret life.Learn how cheaters use gaslighting, lies, and calculated reality distortion to conceal their betrayals. They want to make you question your own mind so completely that you stop listening to your instincts, destroying
A Sex Addict's Deception Playbook: How Your Partner Hides a Double Life
Most people imagine they'd recognize a sex addict. But here’s the reality most survivors never realize: you were never meant to see it.Sexual addictive behavior doesn’t look like deception or betrayal; it looks like distance, irritability, or a relationship going cold. You don’t realize you’re with someone who’s living a double life.In this interview, Dr. Kerry sits down with therapist Cheryl
When the Car Becomes a Weapon: Real Stories of Narcissistic Road Rage
Abuse is something we imagine happens behind closed doors. For a lot of survivors, some of the most frightening moments happened not just in the home but in the passenger seat of a moving car.In this Viewers' Stories episode, Dr. Kerry pulls directly from your comments and unpacks what each one reveals about how narcissists weaponize the car.It was never about losing the narcissist losing the
Road Rage & Other Terrifying Ways Narcissists Use Cars to Intimidate You
If you've ridden in a car with a narcissist, then you've likely experienced them using their driving to intimidate, threaten, or scare you. People with narcissistic traits often use vehicles like a weapon, turning you into more of a hostage instead of a passenger.This week, Dr. Kerry and co-host Lynn break down why road rage and narcissism frequently co-occur and how the car gets used fo
Your Body Knew Before Your Mind Did — Viewer Stories
Narcissistic abuse doesn't just affect your mind — it gets stored in the mind-body connection.Do you have the kind of chronic pain no doctor can explain? Does it get worse the harder you try to fix it? Are you bracing, clenching, and shutting down without knowing what's wrong?In this episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks how narcissistic abuse gets stored in the body, not just the mind. Want to lea
Is Trauma Destroying Your Body? What Narcissistic Abuse Does to Your Health
What if the chronic pain, the exhaustion, and the sleepless nights aren’t because of stress, or you’re getting older, but because your body keeping the score of narcissistic abuse? In this episode, Dr. Kerry sits down with somatic healing expert Liz Tenuto, as known The Workout Witch, to explored one of the most overlooked truths: abuse doesn't just impact your mind; it affects your body. Lea
4 Ways Narcissists Use Your Name to Control and Dehumanize You
Why has the person who claimed to love you gone years without once saying your name — not even once?When a narcissist won't say your name, it isn't a quirk. It's name erasure: a slow, deliberate way of treating you as less than a full person.In this Viewers' Stories episode, Dr. Kerry reads real survivor stories and unpacks four ways the same tactic shows up. Each one is a cove
Why Narcissists Use Pet Names Instead of Calling You by Your Real Name
What if the sweet pet name your partner calls you isn't affection at all — but rather designed to keep you off balance? In this episode, Dr. Kerry and co-host Lynn Strathdee unpack one of the strangest and most overlooked patterns in narcissistic relationships: the use of pet names. Learn why some narcissists even speak about themselves in the third person, and the chilling moment when a &qu
You've Been Brainwashed! How Manipulators Train You to Never Leave
Were you brainwashed to stay — and didn't even know it? A cult doesn't need a compound, robes, or a manifesto. All it needs is two people: one who sets the rules and one who lives by them. Dr. Kerry reads your most powerful wake-up moments — from the woman who recognized every cult trait laid down in the first three months of a nine-year relationship, to the viewer who grew up in a home
Born into a Cult. Then Married a Narcissist. Is Coercive Control Stealing Your Life?
Were you born into a cult — or did you unknowingly marry one? If you've ever felt trapped, controlled, and unable to trust your own reality — whether in a religion, a family system, or a relationship — you may have been living inside a cult of two. Narcissistic abuse operates through the same coercive control and psychological manipulation that keep cult members from ever questioning their re
You Saw the Red Flags and Stayed Anyway. Here’s the Real Reason Why
Why can you spot every red flag, name every tactic, and still find yourself in another toxic relationship? A commenter recently wrote that she had been raised by three narcissists, married to one, dated another for five years, recently lost a friendship to one, and a former partner just resurfaced. She wrapped up by saying “the law of averages can't explain it. So what can?” In this episode,
Nobody Taught Us What a Healthy Relationship Looks Like — Here's the Cost
Nobody taught us what a healthy relationship should feel like. Not in school. Not in graduate training. Not in the culture we grew up in. And that missing lesson? It's costing survivors years of confusion, repeat heartbreak, and an obsession with understanding the very people who harmed them. This week marks a major shift for Breaking Free from Narcissistic Abuse. After a year of flying solo
Alpine Divorce: When Narcissistic Abuse Turns Physically Dangerous
Have you heard of an Alpine Divorce? During a listener’s two-year marriage to a psychopath, her husband took her hiking and then left her clinging to a rock in gale-force winds while he filmed her terror and laughed. This is what’s commonly called an "Alpine Divorce." It is also an example of malignant sadism.In this episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks one of the most chilling tactics in a danger
Narcissists Are Waging a Secret War Against You: 5 Dark Psychology Experts Expose Their Tactics
As we honor Memorial Day, there's another war, something that rages invisible, deliberate, and inside the most intimate relationships. This episode is dedicated to you.In this special compilation, 5 world-class experts answer the questions survivors ask most: How did I end up here? Why didn't I see it coming? And why was I the one chosen?Discover how narcissists and dangerous personalit
Why Your Kids May Have Blamed You for the Narcissist's Abuse — and What to Do Now
A listener from Texas writes in: after escaping a narcissistic marriage, her adult daughter is now demanding that she admit that she was an abuser too. How does she reach her daughter now? In this episode, Dr Kerry unpacks one of the most painful and least-talked-about consequences of narcissistic abuse — what happens to your children when you stay. How do you hold two devastating truths at the sa
Childhood Neglect: The Hidden Damage From Narcissistic Families That Follows You Into Every Relationship
Did you experience childhood neglect? If you keep repeating painful patterns in your relationships — choosing wrong partners, feeling invisible, never asking for what you need — this might be why.Dr. Rachna Buxani, author of "Unseen," joins Dr. Kerry to expose the hidden roles children are assigned in narcissistic family systems — and the lasting damage those roles leave behind in every
The Real Reason You Can't Stop Snooping on Your Narcissistic Partner
A YouTube viewer asks: What about someone's makeup drives them to snoop instead of simply addressing the red flags?In this episode, Dr. Kerry digs deeper into a question raised in the February 19, 2026, Fan Mail segment, Feeling the Urge to Snoop on Your Partner? Here's What It's Really Telling You. Learn why victims of narcissistic abuse feel compelled to hunt for proof and why it
Dreading Their Next Message? How to Stop the Toxicity With a Narcissistic Co-Parent
Are you bracing for impact when your phone buzzes?Does every conversation turn into a nasty fight?This week, Sol Kennedy joins Dr. Kerry to reveal why co-parenting is never get better when dealing with a narcissistic or an emotionally immature co-parent. Learn why courts don't understand narcissistic co-parents will never become reasonable and why most co-parenting apps only make the conflict
5 Years of Stalking Hell After an Interaction With a Neighbor
What happens when a simple, healthy boundary triggers five years of stalking, dismantling your life? A viewer declined an odd social interaction with a neighbor that then sparked a stalking campaign that has followed her and her 15-year-old daughter across state lines. Learn what’s called "street theater” and how these repeated tactics were ussd to make this victim sound crazy. In this episod
Confessions of a Womanizer: "How I Became a Narcissist's Perfect Victim"
What happens when the man who spent years love bombing and manipulating women becomes the victim of the very same tactics?This week, Wade Belair joins Dr. Kerry for a raw, unflinching conversation about the shocking overlap between closeted men and narcissistic abuse — and what genuine healing actually requires.Wade grew up the privileged son of an iconic retail brand founder — raised in an elite,
The Dark Truth About Growing Up Without a Mother’s Love
A listener from Australia writes in: "l have been jealous of women who are loved unconditionally because being raised by a mother who cannot or does not love you, fully and completely without condition, entangles every aspect of you until many women are seething with anger, confusion, and hate." In this episode, Kerry McAvoy, PhD explores why the mother wound - the emotional neglect left
Why We Fail to See the Warning Signs When Women Become Dangerous (feat. Anna Motz)
Why are we more afraid of a violent woman than a violent man, even though men commit the vast majority of violent crimes? This week, forensic and clinical psychologist Anna Motz joins Dr. Kerry to pull back the curtain on one of society's most carefully avoided truths: women are capable of real violence, and we've been trained not to see it. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclu
When You Finally Leave—Why a Narcissist Becomes a "Monster”
If you're experiencing betrayal trauma after discovering your spouse's secret life, how do you finally leave a long-term narcissistic partner without triggering their rage? A listener from the US writes in, "We've been in and out of therapy for 7 years trying to save our marriage. Two months ago I found out he wasn't sober again. I left and I'm now living with my moth
Keep Finding Yourself in the Same Toxic Relationships? How to Break the Pattern
Have you ever looked back at your relationships and realized they all feel disturbingly familiar? That's not a coincidence — it's your relationship blueprint at work. This week, therapist, bestselling author of Why Do I Keep Doing This?, and mental health YouTuber Kati Morton joins Dr. Kerry to break down why so many of us keep repeating toxic relationship patterns — and what it actuall
Is Your Partner Hiding Money? How Narcissists Use Finances to Control You
Why does a partner hide money, and is it always a sign of financial abuse? A viewer from the US writes in, "He is very good at hiding money using apps and credit cards. How do I find out what he's hiding?" In this episode, Dr. Kerry breaks down the difference between financial secrecy and financial abuse and how to reclaim your power in an unsafe relationship.Submit Your Question If
Why Covert Narcissists Always Make You Feel Guilty (Even When You've Done Nothing Wrong)
Covert narcissism (NPD) is the hardest form of narcissistic abuse to identify — and the most damaging. Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling like you did something wrong — even though you can't quite explain what? In this episode, Dr. Kerry McAvoy sits down with Dr. Anthony Mazzella (The Narcissism Decoder) to break down exactly how covert narcissists use guilt and victimhood
Why Narcissists Always Make Their Victims Look Unhinged
Why does the person who calls out a narcissist end up looking like the unhinged one? A Facebook follower writes in, "Why does the person recognizing and confronting the narcissistic behavior often appear unhinged to everyone else?" In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why narcissists always appear calm and credible while their victims come across as unstable. Submit Your Question If you&a
The #1 Mistake People Make When Divorcing a Narcissist
Are you walking into your divorce expecting the court to finally see the truth about your narcissistic ex? This week, divorce attorney Hannah Bell Hembree joins Dr. Kerry to pull back the curtain on what really happens in the courtroom when you're leaving a narcissist. With nearly two decades of legal experience and her own custody battle behind her, Hannah shares the hard truths every surviv
How to Help a Friend Who Can't Walk Away from a Narcissistic Relationship
My best friend divorced her narcissistic ex two months ago — but she keeps talking to him, then ignoring him, then reaching out again. She says she wants to move on, but she can't seem to break the cycle. In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why leaving a narcissist doesn't automatically break the trauma bond — and what's really driving the painful push-pull your friend can't es
The Scary Reason Why Gaslighting Actually Works (And You’re a Part of the Problem)
Have you ever tried to walk away from a toxic person, only to find yourself right back in the middle of their reality?This week, Dr. Robin Stern (author of The Gaslight Effect) joins Dr. Kerry for a conversation that will change how you view manipulation. Most people think gaslighting is just about lying—but the truth is much darker. It’s a "relational mess" that requires two people to f
Do Narcissists Enjoy Hurting You? Here's Dr. Kerry's Hard Truth
Why does someone who divorces a narcissist keep going back to them? A listener writes in, “My best friend divorced her narcissistic ex two months ago — but she keeps talking to him, then ignoring him, then reaching out again. She says she wants to move on, but she can't seem to break the cycle.” In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why leaving a narcissist doesn't automatically break the
How to Tell You've Met a Narcissist: Coach Dan Ratner's Best Sniff Test
Have you ever felt completely drained after spending time with certain people in your life? This week, Coach Dan Ratner joins Dr. Kerry to explore the hidden world of emotional vampires: the 12 types of energy-draining people we all have in our lives and why narcissists are the most dangerous of them all. Dan shares his powerful KEEPER framework for identifying who truly deserves a place in your l
My Brother Is Stealing My Mother's Final Years & She Refuses to Stop Him
Take the Toxic or Troubled? Quiz and get specialized help for your specific situation. https://kerrymcavoyphd.fillout.com/toxic-troubled-surveyMy 62-year-old narcissistic brother moved in with my 86-year-old mother "temporarily" after his divorce six years ago. Now she's suffocating, the rest of the family stays away, and she won't let anyone intervene. In this episode, Dr. Ker
Want to Spot Red Flags the First Time You Meet? How Abusers Reveal Themselves Through Their Words, Featuring Dr. Jennie Young
Ever ignored a gut feeling on a date because you wanted to "give him a chance"? This week, Dr. Jennie Young — PhD linguist and creator of the viral Burned Haystack Dating Method — reveals how the words men use in dating profiles and early messages expose exactly who they are before you've even met. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsle
What to Do When You Can't Leave: How to Protect Yourself from a Coercive Partner
My husband forces sex on me, erupts in rage, and his wealthy family would never believe me — and I don't think I can leave. In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why you can't make an unsafe person safe through effort alone — and why that means your only real lever is increasing your own protection. Learn a practical two-stage framework to manage this impossible situation. Submit Your Que
Why Am I Not Getting Better? The Hidden CPTSD Symptoms That Can Stall Your Healing
You've done the work. Read the books. Tried the strategies. So why aren't you healing? This week, survivor and educator Ellen Tift reveals the hidden CPTSD symptoms quietly keeping you stuck—and why naming them might be the most powerful thing you can do. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here. MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST EXTRA INTERVIEW 🔹
Watch Out for These 7 Empathy Weaponization Tactics That Will Trap You
Have you heard, ‘If you truly understood me, you'd give me what I want?” This week's Fan Mail comes from a listener in Sweden who asks Dr. Kerry to explain how empathy gets weaponized. In this episode, Dr. Kerry breaks down the 5 types of empathy (affective, cognitive, compassionate, somatic, and perspective-taking) and explains why having empathy doesn't make someone safe. Follow o
Why Did They Pick You? The Trait in ‘Good’ People Narcissists Love to Exploit
Why do narcissists target good, empathetic people in relationships?This week, forensic psychologist Dr. Peter Favaro reveals why being a good person might actually make you MORE vulnerable to narcissists—and how that one irrational belief creates the exact confusion toxic people exploit. Wondering if you met a “bad person?” Find out with this free gift from Dr. Kerry! PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGME
Why Narcissists Follow You When You Move Away—And How to Create Distance That Actually Works
My narcissistic brother is relocating to town after I moved away to escape him—why is he doing this? In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why narcissists will often close the gap when there’s physical distance. How do you gain psychological distance when you can't move away? She also offers helpful strategies for creating boundaries when distance fails. Submit Your Question If you'd like
Struggling with Post-Separation Abuse? Get Real Help from a Surprising Direction
Are you struggling with post-separation abuse and drowning in documentation? This week, Anne Wintemute introduces AimeeSays—an AI tool that helps abuse survivors make sense of chaos, document their experience, and present their story in a way family court will actually hear. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here. MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST EXTRA
Feeling the Urge to Snoop on Your Partner? Here's What It's Really Telling You
"I found proof he was cheating—but was snooping really what I needed to finally leave?” This week's Fan Mail comes from a listener in Dublin, CA, who, after reading Dr. Kerry's book "Love You More," recognized her own relationship mirrored Dr. Kerry's experience, including the urge to snoop. In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why the urge to snoop is actually all the
How Narcissists Trap You: A New Movie Shows Gaslighting & Coercive Control
Ever wonder why narcissists feel impossible to leave—even when you know something's wrong? This week, filmmakers Ali & Stefanie Schmahl reveal how their docu-fiction hybrid "I Love You My Narcissist" portrays what no other film has: the internal experience of being slowly trapped by someone you love. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly ne
When Your Abuser Won't Leave and Won't Change: Here's Your Options
"My abusive partner refuses to leave or get help—and I'm trapped in a 'silent divorce.' What are my actual options?" This week's Fan Mail question comes from a YouTube listener navigating an impossible situation: a long marriage, adult children, religious pressure against divorce, and an abusive partner who wants to maintain the status quo without doing any of the wor
Why You’re Struggling to Feel Empathy for Yourself — Tammy Triolo
Lost empathy for yourself? You've already lost the fight. This week, Tammy Triolo reveals the shocking connection between self-empathy loss and narcissistic abuse. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here. MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST EXTRA INTERVIEW 🔹 Tammy walks you through recognizing when thoughts are just thoughts—not truth—and how to stop su
Gaslit by Your Doctor? Why Healthcare Attracts Narcissists and How to Protect Yourself
“My doctor keeps telling me it's all in my head—but I know something's wrong. Why won't they listen?" This week's Fan Mail question comes from a podcast listener who writes: "Dear Kerry, could you do a podcast on the topic of narcissism, psychopathy and healthcare?…” In this episode, Dr. Kerry breaks down why healthcare settings attract people who crave power and cont
You’ve Been Made to Think It’s Your Fault: The Truth About Predatory Behavior
Ever wonder why you didn't see it coming? This week, Don Hennessy joins Dr. Kerry to expose the hidden playbook male predators use to infiltrate your mind—without you knowing it happened. We unpack the shocking truth about what predators are actually really after. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here.MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST EXTRA INTERVIE
Does Narcissism Come and Go? Why Narcissists Seem Better & Then Suddenly Aren't
Does Narcissism Come and Go? What "Good Periods" With a Narcissist Really Mean This week's Fan Mail question comes from a listener in Dubai who writes: "Can narcissism in a person wax and wane? There's been years when my husband was acting like a narcissist, and then there's also been chunks of years where he's been incredibly supportive and uplifting. Can a narc
Coercive Control: How It Steals Your Freedom (Before You Even Realize It) — Dr. Christine Cocchiola
Slowly losing control in your relationship—but can't quite put your finger on what's happening?This week, Dr. Christine Cocchiola breaks down coercive control as the invisible foundation beneath all abuse. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here.MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST EXTRA INTERVIEW 🔹 Think you might be losing yourself, but not sure h
Narcissist vs. Narcissist: What Happens When These Two Toxic Personalities Match-Up
"My coworker is a narcissist—and so is our boss. What happens when two narcissists have to work together?" This week's Fan Mail question comes from a YouTube listener who writes: "Thank you for all your content! Very helpful. I am curious to know - what tends to happen when 'a narcissist meets a narcissist' - meaning they are introduced to each other, are coworkers or
Gone No Contact? Why Some Parents Have to Push Away Their Kids
Why do loving parents sometimes push away the very children they'd do anything for? This week, Catherine Hickem joins Dr. Kerry to unpack one of the most painful dynamics in modern families—parental estrangement. We explore how unspoken expectations create invisible walls, why parents mistake control for connection, and how grief work (yes, grief work) is the secret to letting your adult chil
Is It Really Estrangement… Or Is Your Toxic Ex Playing Parental Alienation Games?
A listener pushes back and asks, "How do we know the parent claiming alienation isn't actually the abuser manipulating the narrative?"When a child rejects contact with a parent after separation, is it parental alienation or justified estrangement?In this week's fan mail, a listener pushes back with a challenge about a previous episode that aired October 16, 2025, titled "W
Recommended
The Bread and Banter Podcast
The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament
Busted Open
Deadline: White House
Crickets Corner
History of the Earthquake and Fire in San Francisco
Fox news
K-Drama Obsessed Mamas | Beyond “Just One More Episode!”
True Crime Classics
The Healer Revolution
Becoming: HER with Nikki Spoelstra
Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton
