Family Abuse Podcasts Episodes

Spoon is a survivor of online grooming, generational trauma, and an abusive relationship. This episode pulls no punches, shining a harsh light on the realities of exploitation and the toll it takes on one's self-worth. Yet, even in the darkest corners of her story, Spoon's spirit shines bright as she speaks of the recovery process and how she found her worth again. This conversation is not just about trauma and abuse, but about finding hope, strength, and resilience in the process. So, join us f...

Imagine being a child forced into the role of caretaker for your struggling mother. Our guest for today, Saylor, knows that reality all too well, and she's here to share her journey. From witnessing her mother's emotional abuse at the hands of her father, to grappling with her own feelings about their complex family dynamics, Saylor offers a raw and insightful look into a world many don't understand. In sharing her story, she illuminates the impact of unseen family wounds on the developmental ye...

Raven is a survivor who lived through an 18-year abusive relationship. From her childhood in a dysfunctional home to her struggle with toxic relationships, Raven paints a vivid picture of her journey, offering deep insights into how her abusive partner disrupted her work, led her into financial abuse, and how her own people-pleasing tendencies played a role in her prolonged stay in a destructive relationship. Raven’s courage shines through as she shares the tactics she used to protect herself e...

Join us as we welcome abuse survivor Tori to share her powerful story of growing up in an unstable home, a cult-like church, and eventually marrying an altruistic abuser. Through her journey, Tori uncovers how her tumultuous childhood and exposure to a cult-like atmosphere shaped her relationships and the person she chose to marry. Tori offers valuable insights into recognizing red flags, navigating abusive relationships, and finding the strength to break free. Listen in as Tori reveals the c...

Growing up in a dysfunctional family can leave deep scars that last a lifetime. Tara, a courageous survivor of narcissistic abuse, joins us to openly share her personal journey through generational trauma, sibling abuse, and the toxic environment that impacted her life in significant ways. Tara speaks honestly about her loving but absent father, an emotionally and physically abusive mother, and manipulative extended family members. The complexities of emotional and physical abuse, triangulation...

Elly had a string of toxic relationships before she was swept off her feet by someone who portrayed themselves as the exact opposite of every one of them. The relationship moved quickly. Within three weeks of moving away from all her support systems, Elly became pregnant and married soon after that. And unfortunately for Elly, that's when things went from bad to worse. It's a story of generational trauma, an enabling family, infidelity, physical abuse, protecting your kids, taking your power ba...

Brandon talks with Dawn Malcolm (High Conflict Consultant) about divorce, radical acceptance, proper sources of validation, new perspectives on circular or highly tense conversations, respecting your energy, and bringing awareness to how you show up in other areas of your life. To listen to Dawn Malcolm's (Jean) survivor story, click here. Dawn Malcolm's email is resilientempathcoach@gmail.com If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please click here or send us an email at nar...

Venus grew up in a cult of her mother’s narcissism, delusions, and rage. To Venus, this was normal. The brainwashing was winning. However, in her late twenties, Venus entered therapy, opening a floodgate of repressed memories that would change her family life forever. It's a story of generational trauma, plausible deniability, neglect, dissociation, people pleasing, hyper vigilance, parentification, weaponized poverty, mocking, threats, perfectionism, fear, hypocrites, mixed messages, guilt, ra...

Sharon experienced two traumatic life-altering events by the age of 9. The after effects of these events reverberated throughout her life. Sharon became extremely self-sacrificing, felt that she didn't matter, and feared abandonment. In both of her abusive relationships, Sharon was very open about her childhood trauma, and both partners seemed to care about it at first, only to use it against her later. It's a story of child sexual abuse, codependency, trauma bonds, infidelity, abandonment, cog...

December and her future ex-boyfriend became fast friends through their local music scene. December felt seen for the first time, but the relationship December wanted was dangled in front of her like a carrot on a moving stick. Always out of reach, yet not. It's a story of triangulation, gaslighting, minimization, adoption, fear, control, isolation, suicide attempts, suicide threats, physical abuse, sexual coercion, push/pulls, self acceptance, put downs, self worth, despair, relief, the player,...

Ollie's mother was known as a neighborhood Mother Teresa. But behind closed doors, Ollie's mother was controlling, verbally abusive, manipulative, and creating an environment of impossible standards. It's a story of facades, common enemies, hyper vigilance, kernels of truth, sibling relationships, body issues, perfection, expectations, manipulation, emotional abuse, and generational trauma. If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please click here or send us an email at narcis...

Porsha's father was a cerebral narcissist who cared more about work/appearances than anyone or anything. As the youngest of 3 siblings, Porsha grew up as the lost child in her family's abusive dysfunction, enduring physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, enmeshment, and covert incest. It's a story of the scapegoat, golden child, lost child, addiction, anxiety, CPTSD, neglect, enmeshment, covert incest, physical abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, enabling, enmeshment, neglect, people pleasin...

Amelia & Reya lived in fear of their parent's constant emotional and verbal abuse. They lived in fear of their mom's suicide threats. They lived in fear of their mom leaving. They lived in fear of the physical abuse. They lived in fear. It's a story of parentification, fear, obligation, guilt, perfection, appearances, mental health issues, protection, generational trauma, CPTSD, victim playing, autonomy, feelings, no contact, self esteem, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, shame, hyper vig...

Agarcia survived her childhood abandonment/abuse by becoming an independent force. However, once Agarcia was a late teen, she started finding herself in multiple abusive relationships that spanned over 20 years, including extreme financial abuse and attempted homicide. It's a story of generational trauma, neglect, abandonment, trust, coping skills, victim playing, stalking, infidelity, deflecting, blame shifting, gaslighting, projection, financial abuse, physical abuse, isolation, homelessness,...

Danielle was 32 years old when she met Matt on an online dating site. Matt had chiseled cheekbones and shockingly vulnerable green eyes. He took rare and alarming ownership for his mistakes, which included drug addiction and some resulting misbehavior. Matt was through that now and regretted the past. To Danielle, Matt was the most beautiful human she had ever seen. And that's the exact facade this wolf in sheep's clothing wanted her to see. It's a story of addiction, hindsight, entitlement, en...

Heather was a recently divorced single mother. During the global Covid-19 Pandemic, Heather was introduced to a live streaming platform called Ego Live where she found comfort, solace, and a social life outside of herself. It was there where she met Kyrie

Tessa grew up in a state of fear. She became a voiceless child that walked on eggshells to avoid her mother's abuse. To Tessa, this was normal. She didn't know what abuse was. To her, this is how families worked. It’s a story of generational trauma, fear, surviving, being good enough, gaslighting, silent treatment, neglect, racism, enemies, control, trust, physical abuse, demands, rage, parental alienation, and healing. **** TRIGGER WARNING - This episode discusses the graphic detail of child ...

All Ronda ever wanted was to feel unconditional love. But unfortunately for Ronda, unconditional love was not being distributed in their dysfunctional household ruled by the abusive, Mr. Right. It’s a story of invalidation, intimidation, identity, self worth, lgbtq+, rage, moving goal posts, control, voicelessness, nitpicking, physical abuse, and trust. If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please click here or send us an email at narcissistapocalypse@gmail.com Thank you to ...

Harley's mom always knew what was best for her. If Harley ever disagreed with her, no matter how respectfully or meekly, her mom would always claim it as a mistreatment of her. For 20+ years, Harley lived in a world of gaslighting, but she didn't even know that gaslighting existed. However, with some help from her godfather, Pink, a stranger named Grace, and the existence of Kate McKinnon, Harley eventually saw through her mother's facade and was finally able to break away. It's a story of enme...

Rhea was raised and betrayed by her narcissistic father. It’s a story of dark family secrets, conditional affection, witnessing abuse, perfectionism, infidelity, and survival mode. Plus they discuss, people pleasing, anxiety, vanity, neglect, child sexual abuse, intimidation, internalized rage, physical abuse, divorce, infidelity, panic attacks, minimization, and much more. *** TRIGGER WARNING - Graphic descriptions of physical and child sexual abuse are discussed in this episode. *** If you ...

Brandon discusses the top 5 signs of isolation, how isolation is used to abuse you, common phrases used to isolate you, creating dependency, manipulation tactics, isolation as a form of punishment, identity erosion, and the difficulty in leaving. If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please click here or send us an email at narcissistapocalypse@gmail.com Thank you to our sponsor BETTERHELP. If you need online counseling from anywhere in the world, please do go to https://www...

Lennon met her future husband at a rooftop bar. He was intelligent, driven, strong, and seemingly steady. However, as soon as their relationship became romantic, controlling behavior emerged. And once they were married, the coercive control ramped up, leaving Lennon and her kids in a financially abusive prison. It's a story of sexual coercion, people pleasing, trust building, guilt trips, nitpicking, put downs, blaming, threats, intimidation, what love isn’t, gaslighting, self gaslighting, esca...

Dasha's family was controlled by her emotionally invalidating narcissistic dad. It was the cult of her father. And unfortunately for Dasha, she cracked under the pressure of mixed messages, expectations, and keeping herself small. However, a funny thing happened to Dasha while she battled depression, a light burst through those cracks. And Dasha finally began to take the necessary steps to live a life free from the family and her dad's controlling thumb. Brandon talks to Dasha about her narciss...

Brandon talks with Michael Lander (MSW & Psychotherapist) about his use of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy with families of abuse, 3rd party objectivity, collaborative problem solving with kids, counter parenting, knowing a child's process, manipulation, sharing language, generational trauma, the broken system, and much more. Michael Lander's website can be found by clicking here. To buy the book The Explosive Child, click here. If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, please cl...