Hello there. At the time of writing this, it is Friday the 13th. I’m not superstitious, but I’m aware that some people are. And on a day like today, I get to truly let my dark and playful nature run a little wild.

In case ya’ll didn’t know, the playbook on narcissism and narcissistic behavior is out there in the public domain more than ever, and easy to understand when you apply your own memories and experiences to this knowledge. Trust me, you do have memories and experiences of it. All you need is to give those experiences the names the community on narcissistic abuse (emotional and psychological) has given it. Everything else starts falling into place.

Remember when we were young and played the game Connect the Dots? Welcome to the adult version of it. The dots are your memories. And the lines are drawn with the pencil of your new awareness. It’s all about pattern recognition if you want to break it down to its most simple format. You don’t need to read the DSM-V or be a certified psychotherapist to understand it (though that indeed helps), regardless of what some professionals would have you believe. If you’ve survived the manipulation narcissistic people have used against you, you have first-hand experience of the patterns. You can either learn and build those boundaries or continue to be on the receiving end of poor treatment.

The beauty of this life is that the choice is always yours. The ugliness of this life is that fear of what others think of you tries to take that choice away from you.

You do you BOO.

Yes, I know that most times it’s not that easy or simple to do. I get it. It was never meant to be easy. Your love was never meant to be so freely given to those who consistently take it for granted. Leave toxicity, and you become a nightmare to those who thrive on your presence during their abuse towards you and your reactions to it. Let your silence and absence speak for you loud and clear. They had their chance. No need to defend yourself against their false or twisted allegations. No need to plead for them to understand you or see how their words and actions hurt you. Leave them alone to tend to their own boogeyman.

Happy Friday the 13th,

Jason… I mean Michael.