How “No Contact” Hides the Truth of Emotional Abuse. Know the signs. History and context is key.

According to psychotherapist Andrea Schneider, “The deployment of the silent treatment is frankly one of the most sadistic, cruel and immature forms of psychological abuse.” She identifies it as a common narcissistic trait used to “reclaim and control power in a relationship”.

She continues:
The target often suffers emotional evisceration through a sense of complete bewilderment and emotional pain, given that no opportunity for closure or clarification is made available by the narcissist. Often times, the target is an individual with high emotional IQ, possessing healthy conflict resolution skills, the very qualities an extreme narcissist does not contain within their fragile ego. Extreme narcissists are incapable of accountability, compromise, empathy, reciprocity, and integrity. Since the target typically has been love-bombed or future-faked into believing that the narcissist was her knight-in-shining-armor or perfect boss, the target is often deeply confused and experiences the cognitive dissonance so common for survivors of narcissistic abuse. The extreme narcissist has suddenly vanished into thin air, and such an abrupt Houdini act leaves the survivor reeling with shock, disbelief, and fairly horrific emotional pain. There is no opportunity for closure. (https://www.andreaschneiderlcsw.com/blog/the-silent-treatment-a-narcissists-trick-of-the-trade-of-emotional-abuse

So, have the millions of parents effected by estrangement raised a generation of extreme narcissists? Doubtful. True Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a rare diagnosis in psychology. Nevertheless, as more is known about the cut-off culture of at least the last decade and it’s consequent “no contact” tactic, there is strong suggestion that narcissistic strategies are being employed and encouraged by the self proclaimed “experts” in the discard sphere. No doubt there are strong narcissistic traits in these cultural commanders who reassure adult children that cruelty, sadism, disdain and discard are pathways to personal peace, growth, and a life free from suffering.

Do you detect an air of irony? Aren’t these the same people who have accused parents of being toxic, unaccountable, manipulative, controlling narcissists? Clearly, there is more than a hint of evil genius at the center of this movement. If they could take the core principles of the antithesis of family and apply them to parents in advance, it could create a gaslighting phenomenon not seen since the likes of Mao. By publishing authoritative fiction focusing on the victimhood of “poor little rich” adult children and the only reasonable happy ending being definitive cut off, they have captured the psyches of a generation with promises of eternal peace and bliss as the courageous curators of cut-off.

The entire article on Substack here:  www.substack.com/home/post/p-218820982