The DBT Workbook for Narcissistic Abuse and Gaslighting

Book excerpt: Heal from narcissistic abuse and gaslighting, regulate emotions, set effective boundaries, and build healthy relationships with this powerful, evidence-based workbook. Are you caught in an emotionally abusive relationship with a narcissist, or attempting to recover from one? Are you being gaslit by an intimate partner, family member, or coworker? Narcissistic abuse and gaslighting can have devastating impacts on mental health and well-being. You may experience feelings of shame, guilt, humiliation, and even a sense that something is fundamentally wrong with you. Even if you’ve managed to escape the abusive dynamic, the emotional, physical, and psychological impact can carry on long after the relationship ends. So, how can you start healing? Using this empowering workbook, you’ll learn practical skills grounded in proven-effective dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—the go-to treatment for achieving emotional balance—to help you heal and move forward after narcissistic abuse. Throughout the book, you’ll find targeted exercises for specific trauma symptoms to help you rebuild your shattered self-esteem and confidence, learn how to trust again, and make certain you can recognize red flags in the future. You’ll also discover essential and easy-to-apply mindfulness skills for developing self-compassion, setting healthy boundaries, and managing negative thoughts. After enduring the hell of narcissistic abuse, it can be easy to lose hope—or even lose your sense of self. If you’re ready to start healing your emotional wounds so you can finally move on, this gentle guide can help you replace the guilt, self-doubt, and shame of abuse with self-esteem, unshakable confidence, and trust.