Breaking Free from Narcissistic Abuse

Épisodes

• Why Narcissists Use Pet Names Instead of Calling You by Your Real Name 15.06.2026 25min

  What if the sweet pet name your partner calls you isn't affection at all — but rather designed to keep you off balance? In this episode, Dr. Kerry and co-host Lynn Strathdee unpack one of the strangest and most overlooked patterns in narcissistic relationships: the use of pet names. Learn why some narcissists even speak about themselves in the third person, and the chilling moment when a "compliment" reveals exactly what they really think of you. Podcast Extra Exclusive Segment ...
• You've Been Brainwashed! How Manipulators Train You to Never Leave 11.06.2026 9min

  Were you brainwashed to stay — and didn't even know it? A cult doesn't need a compound, robes, or a manifesto. All it needs is two people: one who sets the rules and one who lives by them. Dr. Kerry reads your most powerful wake-up moments — from the woman who recognized every cult trait laid down in the first three months of a nine-year relationship, to the viewer who grew up in a home where productivity meant safety, to the one who finally had a word for what she'd survived: br...
• Born into a Cult. Then Married a Narcissist. Is Coercive Control Stealing Your Life? 08.06.2026 28min

  Were you born into a cult — or did you unknowingly marry one? If you've ever felt trapped, controlled, and unable to trust your own reality — whether in a religion, a family system, or a relationship — you may have been living inside a cult of two. Narcissistic abuse operates through the same coercive control and psychological manipulation that keep cult members from ever questioning their reality. Brooke Deanne, trauma healing mentor and author of Shattered, Broken and Beau...
• You Saw the Red Flags and Stayed Anyway. Here’s the Real Reason Why 04.06.2026 8min

  Why can you spot every red flag, name every tactic, and still find yourself in another toxic relationship? A commenter recently wrote that she had been raised by three narcissists, married to one, dated another for five years, recently lost a friendship to one, and a former partner just resurfaced. She wrapped up by saying “the law of averages can't explain it. So what can?” In this episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks why insight alone never sets survivors free. Submit Your Question ...
• Nobody Taught Us What a Healthy Relationship Looks Like — Here's the Cost 01.06.2026 25min

  Nobody taught us what a healthy relationship should feel like. Not in school. Not in graduate training. Not in the culture we grew up in. And that missing lesson? It's costing survivors years of confusion, repeat heartbreak, and an obsession with understanding the very people who harmed them. This week marks a major shift for Breaking Free from Narcissistic Abuse. After a year of flying solo, Dr. Kerry welcomes Lynn Strathdee as her new co-host — a UK-based psychodynamic psychoth...
• Alpine Divorce: When Narcissistic Abuse Turns Physically Dangerous 28.05.2026 12min

  Have you heard of an Alpine Divorce? During a listener’s two-year marriage to a psychopath, her husband took her hiking and then left her clinging to a rock in gale-force winds while he filmed her terror and laughed. This is what’s commonly called an "Alpine Divorce." It is also an example of malignant sadism. In this episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks one of the most chilling tactics in a dangerous personality's playbook. Learn how some abusers engineer life-threatening situati...
• Narcissists Are Waging a Secret War Against You: 5 Dark Psychology Experts Expose Their Tactics 25.05.2026 24min

  As we honor Memorial Day, there's another war, something that rages invisible, deliberate, and inside the most intimate relationships. This episode is dedicated to you. In this special compilation, 5 world-class experts answer the questions survivors ask most: How did I end up here? Why didn't I see it coming? And why was I the one chosen? Discover how narcissists and dangerous personalities identify, groom, and trap their targets — and why your kindness, not your weakness, mad...
• Why Your Kids May Have Blamed You for the Narcissist's Abuse — and What to Do Now 21.05.2026 10min

  A listener from Texas writes in: after escaping a narcissistic marriage, her adult daughter is now demanding that she admit that she was an abuser too. How does she reach her daughter now? In this episode, Dr Kerry unpacks one of the most painful and least-talked-about consequences of narcissistic abuse — what happens to your children when you stay. How do you hold two devastating truths at the same time: you were a victim, and your child was hurt by your inability to leave? Subm...
• Childhood Neglect: The Hidden Damage From Narcissistic Families That Follows You Into Every Relationship 18.05.2026 27min

  Did you experience childhood neglect? If you keep repeating painful patterns in your relationships — choosing wrong partners, feeling invisible, never asking for what you need — this might be why. Dr. Rachna Buxani, author of "Unseen," joins Dr. Kerry to expose the hidden roles children are assigned in narcissistic family systems — and the lasting damage those roles leave behind in every relationship you'll ever have. Childhoos neglect doesn’t stay in childhood — it follows you. PODCAST E...
• The Real Reason You Can't Stop Snooping on Your Narcissistic Partner 14.05.2026 15min

  A YouTube viewer asks: What about someone's makeup drives them to snoop instead of simply addressing the red flags? In this episode, Dr. Kerry digs deeper into a question raised in the February 19, 2026, Fan Mail segment, Feeling the Urge to Snoop on Your Partner? Here's What It's Really Telling You. Learn why victims of narcissistic abuse feel compelled to hunt for proof and why it never brings the relief you're looking for. Submit Your Question If you'd like Dr. Kerry to answer your...
• Dreading Their Next Message? How to Stop the Toxicity With a Narcissistic Co-Parent 11.05.2026 27min

  Are you bracing for impact when your phone buzzes? Does every conversation turn into a nasty fight? This week, Sol Kennedy joins Dr. Kerry to reveal why co-parenting is never get better when dealing with a narcissistic or an emotionally immature co-parent. Learn why courts don't understand narcissistic co-parents will never become reasonable and why most co-parenting apps only make the conflict worse. Sol Kennedy shares how to take back control by changing the entire dynamic. List...
• 5 Years of Stalking Hell After an Interaction With a Neighbor 07.05.2026 12min

  What happens when a simple, healthy boundary triggers five years of stalking, dismantling your life? A viewer declined an odd social interaction with a neighbor that then sparked a stalking campaign that has followed her and her 15-year-old daughter across state lines. Learn what’s called "street theater” and how these repeated tactics were ussd to make this victim sound crazy. In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains: • Why the public tends to dismiss extreme gang stalking stori...
• Confessions of a Womanizer: "How I Became a Narcissist's Perfect Victim" 04.05.2026 45min

  What happens when the man who spent years love bombing and manipulating women becomes the victim of the very same tactics? This week, Wade Belair joins Dr. Kerry for a raw, unflinching conversation about the shocking overlap between closeted men and narcissistic abuse — and what genuine healing actually requires. Wade grew up the privileged son of an iconic retail brand founder — raised in an elite, hyper-masculine culture where conquest was currency, and vulnerability was weakness. He play...
• The Dark Truth About Growing Up Without a Mother’s Love 30.04.2026 7min

  A listener from Australia writes in: "l have been jealous of women who are loved unconditionally because being raised by a mother who cannot or does not love you, fully and completely without condition, entangles every aspect of you until many women are seething with anger, confusion, and hate." In this episode, Kerry McAvoy, PhD explores why the mother wound - the emotional neglect left by a mother who withheld unconditional love - runs so deep. Whether your mother was narcissistic, em...
• Why We Fail to See the Warning Signs When Women Become Dangerous (feat. Anna Motz) 27.04.2026 38min

  Why are we more afraid of a violent woman than a violent man, even though men commit the vast majority of violent crimes? This week, forensic and clinical psychologist Anna Motz joins Dr. Kerry to pull back the curtain on one of society's most carefully avoided truths: women are capable of real violence, and we've been trained not to see it. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive second segment and weekly newsletter here: https://substack.com/@breakingfreenarcabu...
• When You Finally Leave—Why a Narcissist Becomes a "Monster” 23.04.2026 8min

  If you're experiencing betrayal trauma after discovering your spouse's secret life, how do you finally leave a long-term narcissistic partner without triggering their rage? A listener from the US writes in, "We've been in and out of therapy for 7 years trying to save our marriage. Two months ago I found out he wasn't sober again. I left and I'm now living with my mother. How do I get out without him turning into a monster? I need strength. I need to be done." In this episode, Kerr...
• Keep Finding Yourself in the Same Toxic Relationships? How to Break the Pattern 20.04.2026 31min

  Have you ever looked back at your relationships and realized they all feel disturbingly familiar? That's not a coincidence — it's your relationship blueprint at work. This week, therapist, bestselling author of Why Do I Keep Doing This?, and mental health YouTuber Kati Morton joins Dr. Kerry to break down why so many of us keep repeating toxic relationship patterns — and what it actually takes to rewrite them. Together, they unpack the attachment theory, childhood blueprints, peo...
• Is Your Partner Hiding Money? How Narcissists Use Finances to Control You 16.04.2026 6min

  Why does a partner hide money, and is it always a sign of financial abuse? A viewer from the US writes in, "He is very good at hiding money using apps and credit cards. How do I find out what he's hiding?" In this episode, Dr. Kerry breaks down the difference between financial secrecy and financial abuse and how to reclaim your power in an unsafe relationship. Submit Your Question If you'd like Dr. Kerry to answer your question on air, email it to clients@kerrymcavoyphd.com ...
• Why Covert Narcissists Always Make You Feel Guilty (Even When You've Done Nothing Wrong) 13.04.2026 33min

  Covert narcissism (NPD) is the hardest form of narcissistic abuse to identify — and the most damaging. Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling like you did something wrong — even though you can't quite explain what? In this episode, Dr. Kerry McAvoy sits down with Dr. Anthony Mazzella (The Narcissism Decoder) to break down exactly how covert narcissists use guilt and victimhood to keep you trapped. PODCAST EXTRA EXCLUSIVE SEGMENT Find the exclusive secon...
• Why Narcissists Always Make Their Victims Look Unhinged 09.04.2026 8min

  Why does the person who calls out a narcissist end up looking like the unhinged one? A Facebook follower writes in, "Why does the person recognizing and confronting the narcissistic behavior often appear unhinged to everyone else?" In this episode, Dr. Kerry explains why narcissists always appear calm and credible while their victims come across as unstable. Submit Your Question If you'd like Dr. Kerry to answer your question on air, email it to clients@kerrymcavoyphd.com or...