Finding Your Ground: How Human Givens Therapy Supports Healing from Narcissistic Abuse
Description
If you have recently walked away from a narcissistic relationship, you probably feel as though the very ground beneath your feet is unstable. One of the most exhausting parts of this experience is the constant state of high alert. It is a feeling that even though the person is physically gone, the threat remains etched into your nervous system. In the type of therapy I practice, called Human Givens, we look at this through the lens of our innate emotional needs. We believe that every human being is born with a set of essential needs. When these needs are not met, or are actively sabotaged, mental distress is the natural result.
When you are in a relationship with a narcissist, your needs for security, autonomy, and emotional connection are not just ignored. They are often systematically dismantled. You may have spent years in a state of emotional starvation without even realising it. Healing begins by acknowledging that your emotional brain has been stuck in survival mode. You aren't weak or broken. Your nervous system is simply doing its job by trying to protect you from a perceived threat that was, for a long time, very real.
A core principle of this approach is that we have the resources within us to meet these needs, but trauma acts like a barrier to accessing them. We start by identifying which of your emotional needs are currently the most starved. For many survivors, the need for security, which is feeling safe in your environment and your own body, is the first priority. Without a baseline of safety, the brain cannot move out of survival mode and into recovery mode.
A simple, practical way to start finding your ground today is to focus on the need for control and autonomy. Narcissistic abuse thrives on making you feel powerless. This often happens by someone micromanaging your choices or making you doubt your ability to care for yourself. Today, I want you to choose one small, manageable area of your life where you have total, undisputed autonomy. It could be as simple as choosing exactly what you eat for lunch, picking a specific route for a walk that you enjoy, or deciding the order of your evening routine. By consciously making that choice and acknowledging it as yours, you begin to send a signal to your brain that you are back in the driver’s seat. We can work together to expand that circle of control, moving from small daily choices to larger life decisions, ensuring that you feel empowered and secure once again.
My Services:
If you have recently walked away from a narcissistic relationship, you probably feel as though the very ground beneath your feet is unstable. One of the most exhausting parts of this experience is the constant state of high alert. It is a feeling that even though the person is physically gone, the threat remains etched into your nervous system. In the type of therapy I practice, called Human Givens, we look at this through the lens of our innate emotional needs. We believe that every human being is born with a set of essential needs. When these needs are not met, or are actively sabotaged, mental distress is the natural result.
When you are in a relationship with a narcissist, your needs for security, autonomy, and emotional connection are not just ignored. They are often systematically dismantled. You may have spent years in a state of emotional starvation without even realising it. Healing begins by acknowledging that your emotional brain has been stuck in survival mode. You aren't weak or broken. Your nervous system is simply doing its job by trying to protect you from a perceived threat that was, for a long time, very real.
A core principle of this approach is that we have the resources within us to meet these needs, but trauma acts like a barrier to accessing them. We start by identifying which of your emotional needs are currently the most starved. For many survivors, the need for security, which is feeling safe in your environment and your own body, is the first priority. Without a baseline of safety, the brain cannot move out of survival mode and into recovery mode.
A simple, practical way to start finding your ground today is to focus on the need for control and autonomy. Narcissistic abuse thrives on making you feel powerless. This often happens by someone micromanaging your choices or making you doubt your ability to care for yourself. Today, I want you to choose one small, manageable area of your life where you have total, undisputed autonomy. It could be as simple as choosing exactly what you eat for lunch, picking a specific route for a walk that you enjoy, or deciding the order of your evening routine. By consciously making that choice and acknowledging it as yours, you begin to send a signal to your brain that you are back in the driver’s seat. We can work together to expand that circle of control, moving from small daily choices to larger life decisions, ensuring that you feel empowered and secure once again.
Who this is for:
If you have recently walked away from a narcissistic relationship, you probably feel as though the very ground beneath your feet is unstable. One of the most exhausting parts of this experience is the constant state of high alert. It is a feeling that even though the person is physically gone, the threat remains etched into your nervous system. In the type of therapy I practice, called Human Givens, we look at this through the lens of our innate emotional needs. We believe that every human being is born with a set of essential needs. When these needs are not met, or are actively sabotaged, mental distress is the natural result.
When you are in a relationship with a narcissist, your needs for security, autonomy, and emotional connection are not just ignored. They are often systematically dismantled. You may have spent years in a state of emotional starvation without even realising it. Healing begins by acknowledging that your emotional brain has been stuck in survival mode. You aren't weak or broken. Your nervous system is simply doing its job by trying to protect you from a perceived threat that was, for a long time, very real.
A core principle of this approach is that we have the resources within us to meet these needs, but trauma acts like a barrier to accessing them. We start by identifying which of your emotional needs are currently the most starved. For many survivors, the need for security, which is feeling safe in your environment and your own body, is the first priority. Without a baseline of safety, the brain cannot move out of survival mode and into recovery mode.
A simple, practical way to start finding your ground today is to focus on the need for control and autonomy. Narcissistic abuse thrives on making you feel powerless. This often happens by someone micromanaging your choices or making you doubt your ability to care for yourself. Today, I want you to choose one small, manageable area of your life where you have total, undisputed autonomy. It could be as simple as choosing exactly what you eat for lunch, picking a specific route for a walk that you enjoy, or deciding the order of your evening routine. By consciously making that choice and acknowledging it as yours, you begin to send a signal to your brain that you are back in the driver’s seat. We can work together to expand that circle of control, moving from small daily choices to larger life decisions, ensuring that you feel empowered and secure once again.