When Trauma Looks Like Mental Illness with Michelle Reittinger

From Flight to Fight - The Truth About Reactive Abuse

Share your comments with Marcia [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/fan_mail/new] You tried to communicate. You tried therapy. You tried being vulnerable. You tried leaving the room. You tried silence. And when nothing else worked, you fought back. You yelled. You said cruel things. Maybe you even got physical. And now you're carrying shame because you think that makes you just as bad as them. It doesn't. In this episode, we're talking about reactive abuse - the thing that keeps survivors stuck in guilt for years, often even after they leave. It's the moments you're not proud of. The times you snapped after being pushed past your breaking point. The reactions the narcissist weaponized against you to prove YOU were the problem. Here's what you need to understand: Reactive abuse isn't you being abusive. It's you finally going into fight mode after flight stopped working. It's your nervous system saying "I give up trying to survive any other way." And the narcissist baited you into it on purpose because they needed you to react. Your reaction validated their narrative, gave them ammunition, made you doubt yourself, and kept you trapped trying to prove you weren't crazy. I'm sharing my own experiences with reactive abuse in my 30-year marriage - the aggression, the affair, the shame spiral that kept me compliant for years. Because I want you to understand that if a licensed therapist with over 23 years of clinical experience can fall into this pattern, you are not alone. And you are not the problem. We break down: * What reactive abuse actually is and why it happens * The narcissist's strategy and why they NEED you to react * How to recognize when you've been baited * The difference between reactive abuse and actual abuse * How to break the cycle and stop taking the bait * Why you need to forgive yourself and release the shame If you've ever wondered if you're the narcissist, if you've been called abusive for how you responded to being abused, if you're carrying guilt about moments you wish you could take back - this episode is for you. Stop punishing yourself for being human under inhumane conditions. Your reactions were survival. Now it's time to heal. Every Monday at 7 PM EST, join me live in The Healing Room on TikTok and Instagram where we break trauma bonds together. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/support] Get "GROOMED" [https://a.co/d/gq9gdaP] Follow me on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/thepassagetopeace/] Follow me on Tiktok! [https://www.tiktok.com/@passagetopeace] Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! [https://www.youtube.com/@Passage2peace] Follow me on Linkden! [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-williams-passage2peace/] Find me on Psychology Today! [https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1354460] Learn more about our programs and services! [https://www.thepassagetopeace.com/]

Live in The Healing Room: The "H" Word is The Silent Killer

Share your comments with Marcia [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/fan_mail/new] We are taught from the time we are children that hope is a good thing. Hope is in the Bible. Hope is positive. Hope is what keeps us going. So what happens when the very thing we've been told is beautiful becomes the thing that is silently destroying us? Tonight in The Healing Room, we are talking about the "H" word. And yes, it's going to be uncomfortable. Because hope — the hope we hold onto in a narcissistic relationship — is not the hopeful, faith-filled, keep-going kind of hope we were raised to believe in. It's the kind that keeps us trapped. The kind that whispers "maybe this time" while we lose years of our lives waiting for a change that is never coming. We're diving deep tonight. We're talking about why hope is what I call the silent killer — and why someone else has even called it slow motion suicide. We're getting into the neurochemical trap that makes hope feel exactly like love, why your brain is literally wired to keep you hooked into the cycle, and how hope and denial are not two separate things — they are the same thing wearing different outfits. But don't worry. We're not just tearing something down tonight. We're also talking about what to replace it with. Because if hope isn't the answer, then what is? Tonight we're trading hope in for something far more powerful — and it starts with you. This is not about the narcissist. This is about you.  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/support] Get "GROOMED" [https://a.co/d/gq9gdaP] Follow me on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/thepassagetopeace/] Follow me on Tiktok! [https://www.tiktok.com/@passagetopeace] Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! [https://www.youtube.com/@Passage2peace] Follow me on Linkden! [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-williams-passage2peace/] Find me on Psychology Today! [https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1354460] Learn more about our programs and services! [https://www.thepassagetopeace.com/]

The Five Stages of a Deteriorating Marriage & The $300 Custody Hack with Dr. Becky Whetstone

Share your comments with Marcia [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/fan_mail/new] What if I told you that your marriage didn't just suddenly fall apart - it died in five predictable stages, and you missed every warning sign? In this enlightening conversation, I sit down with Dr. Becky Whetstone, marriage and family therapist and author of "I Think I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage," to talk about what no one else will tell you about leaving a narcissist. Dr. Becky spent 20 years trying to get her book published. Why? Because literary agents kept rejecting it for being "too negative" - they wanted her to save every marriage in the end. But Dr. Becky knows the uncomfortable truth: some marriages can't and shouldn't be saved. Especially when you're married to a narcissist. She's lived it. Twice. Two narcissistic husbands, two divorces, and hard-won wisdom about what it actually takes to get out and stay out. In this episode, we dive deep into territory most therapists won't touch: * The five stages every deteriorating marriage goes through and why most people suffer in silence until it's too late * How narcissists show up in couples therapy - spoiler: they're there to change YOU, not themselves * Why only 30% of abusers ever change even with the best treatment protocol, and why the other 70% never will * The critical difference between narcissistic tendencies and actual Narcissistic Personality Disorder * If you're asking yourself "Am I the narcissist?" - you're not. Here's why narcissists never self-reflect. * The $300 custody hack that ended her million-dollar-earning ex-husband's lawsuit in 30 seconds * Why you can't reason with a narcissist and what to do instead * How to leave covertly when you need to protect yourself financially, and why sometimes disappearing is the safest option This conversation will challenge everything you think you know about saving your marriage, trying one more time, and whether couples therapy with a narcissist is even safe. If you're stuck in the "I think I want out" phase, if you're exhausted from trying to make it work, if you need permission to stop reasoning with someone who will never change - this episode is for you. Dr. Becky Whetstone is the author of "I Think I Want Out: What to Do When One of You Wants to End Your Marriage" and is currently releasing her memoir "The Congressman's Wife" about her own marriage crisis. Find her at marriagecrisismanager.com. Ready to do your own recovery work? Visit ThePassageToPeace.com to learn about my P2P Essentials 7 week program, explore my coaching programs, P.E.A.C.E. Pockets Survival Sessions, and one-on-one coaching. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/support] Get "GROOMED" [https://a.co/d/gq9gdaP] Follow me on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/thepassagetopeace/] Follow me on Tiktok! [https://www.tiktok.com/@passagetopeace] Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! [https://www.youtube.com/@Passage2peace] Follow me on Linkden! [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-williams-passage2peace/] Find me on Psychology Today! [https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1354460] Learn more about our programs and services! [https://www.thepassagetopeace.com/]

When Trauma Looks Like Mental Illness with Michelle Reittinger

Share your comments with Marcia [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/fan_mail/new] What if the mental health diagnosis you've been carrying isn't actually the answer you thought it was? What if the symptoms you've been told to manage for life could actually be healed at the root? In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Michelle Rittenburg, number one bestselling author of The Upside of Bipolar and founder of Upsiders Tribe, to explore the complex intersection of trauma and mental health symptoms. Michelle shares her raw journey from a narcissistic abusive first marriage that left her with unprocessed trauma she carried for 30 years. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 24 and told she had a permanent chemical imbalance requiring lifelong medication, Michelle spent over a decade on seven different psychiatric drugs, experienced multiple hospitalizations, and survived suicide attempts. She was told recovery wasn't possible. But Michelle refused to accept that narrative. In this episode, we dive deep into uncomfortable territory: The moment Michelle realized traditional treatment wasn't working and why the "chemical imbalance" theory she'd built her life around wasn't supported by science How unprocessed trauma from narcissistic abuse manifested as severe mood swings, depression, and what looked like mental illness Why psychiatric diagnoses describe symptoms but don't identify underlying causes, and how this keeps people trapped in victimhood Michelle's intense six-week EMDR therapy experience processing 30 years of repressed trauma, including her "day of rage" that signaled breakthrough The difference between managing symptoms and actually healing at the root Why we must learn to sit with uncomfortable emotions instead of pathologizing or avoiding them How choosing your hard, doing the work, and looking at symptoms with curiosity instead of judgment creates true freedom The critical role of community and tribe in the healing journey This conversation will challenge everything you've been told about mental health, permanent diagnoses, and what's actually possible when you're willing to do the uncomfortable work of healing. If you've been labeled, diagnosed, or told you're broken beyond repair, this episode is for you. Whether you're dealing with the aftermath of narcissistic abuse, struggling with mental health symptoms, or both, Michelle's message is clear: healing is possible, and you don't have to be a victim to your symptoms for the rest of your life. Ready to do your own recovery work? Visit ThePassageToPeace.com to explore my coaching programs, P.E.A.C.E. Pockets Survival Sessions, and one-on-one coaching. LINKS To Find Michelle: Website: www.theupsideofbipolar.com [http://www.theupsideofbipolar.com]  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theupsideofbipolar [https://www.tiktok.com/@theupsideofbipolar]  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar [https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar]  Podcast: The Upside of Bipolar: Conversations on the Road to Wellness  Book: The Upside of Bipolar: Seven Steps to Heal Your Disorder Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/support] Get "GROOMED" [https://a.co/d/gq9gdaP] Follow me on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/thepassagetopeace/] Follow me on Tiktok! [https://www.tiktok.com/@passagetopeace] Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! [https://www.youtube.com/@Passage2peace] Follow me on Linkden! [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-williams-passage2peace/] Find me on Psychology Today! [https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1354460] Learn more about our programs and services! [https://www.thepassagetopeace.com/]

Live in The Healing Room: It's Not a "You" Problem, It's a Brain Problem

Share your comments with Marcia [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/fan_mail/new] "Just move on. Just let it go. Just forget about it." If breaking free from a narcissistic relationship were that simple, you'd already be done. But it's not, and there's a reason why. In this live recording from The Healing Room, I break down the hard truth about trauma bonds and why willpower alone will never be enough to break them. This isn't about weakness - it's about understanding that you're dealing with a brain problem, not a character flaw. I'm covering: * Why your brain treats the relationship like an addiction (because it literally is) * The neurological patterns keeping you stuck in the cycle * Why New Year's resolutions are a trap when it comes to trauma bonds * The three things you actually need: structure, community, and the right framework * How to stop setting yourself up for failure and start creating real change As someone who spent 30 years in a marriage to a narcissist and five years breaking my own trauma bond, I'm not just teaching this - I've lived it. And I'm here to walk through it with you. Join me every Monday at 7 PM EST on TikTok and Instagram for Monday Night Live in The Healing Room, where we're breaking bonds and building better lives. Free Workshop: Join me January 19th, 2026 for a 75-minute deep dive on breaking the trauma bond. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537411/support] Get "GROOMED" [https://a.co/d/gq9gdaP] Follow me on Instagram! [https://www.instagram.com/thepassagetopeace/] Follow me on Tiktok! [https://www.tiktok.com/@passagetopeace] Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! [https://www.youtube.com/@Passage2peace] Follow me on Linkden! [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-williams-passage2peace/] Find me on Psychology Today! [https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1354460] Learn more about our programs and services! [https://www.thepassagetopeace.com/]