Codependents, Narcissists and Abandonment & Shame

Lions and tigers and bears OH MY!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Generally speaking, the narcissist and codependent have grown up feeling abandoned, rejected, unloved, and unwanted. Both have internalized abandonment and carry this internalization of such experiences as shame. The codependent is the one who has figured out that by acquiescing, people-pleasing, fawning, rescuing, and by suppressing one's needs they are able to avoid either additional abandonment or criticism. The narcissist, however, was unable to find ways to gain any sort of approval or reprieve from the experiences they were born into. No matter what the narcissist did, relief, acceptance, love, happiness, attachment, and joy never came. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Codependents LOVE to rescue and fix people. We have never learned to believe that we are enough just as we are. Healthy people might not want us, we think, but perhaps a wounded duck might! In fact, codependent people will attract the most wounded, unstable personality in a room full of healthy others! Like a moth to a flame we are magnetically drawn to the shame-filled wounds of others we find intoxicating as they represent the fantasy of possibly having someone outside of us tell us 'we are good and we are enough'.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Codependents must be willing to walk away from abusive conversations, gaslighting, neglect, stonewalling, rage, or manipulation. Tolerating passive aggressive covert or overt nonsense only reinforces the narcissist's hidden agenda, which is to get you to feel guilty for daring to hold them responsible for anything!