Reclaiming Your Soul

Leaving a narcissist is only the beginning of your journey, not the end. What happens when you finally walk away from narcissistic abuse? How do you rebuild when your identity has been systematically dismantled? This raw, honest conversation explores the challenging aftermath that so many survivors face in silence.

The emotional landscape after narcissistic abuse is complex – confusion, grief, and loss tangle together while trauma bonds continue pulling you back toward someone who caused harm. Walking away doesn't magically heal these wounds, but it does mean you've chosen healing over harm. Now begins the real work of reclaiming yourself.

We explore practical steps toward healing: naming the abuse without minimizing it, establishing firm boundaries to protect your peace, reconnecting with your pre-relationship identity, finding appropriate support systems, and practicing radical self-compassion. The inner critic – often echoing your abuser's voice – will be loud during recovery, but healing starts when you replace that critic with kindness toward yourself. Through journaling prompts and power statements, we offer tangible ways to shift from survival mode into genuine freedom and joy.

Healing after a narcissist isn't just about leaving them behind – it's about rediscovering the woman who is inherently worthy of love, peace, and radiance. Your story isn't over; it's just beginning. Whether you're in the midst of recovery or supporting someone who is, this episode provides the compassionate guidance needed to move forward with hope and purpose.

 Power statement for today:

“Healing after a narcissist isn’t just about leaving them behind. It’s about rediscovering YOU—the woman who is worthy of love, peace, and radiance.”

Journaling Prompts for Listeners
What part of my identity feels most lost after this relationship?

What boundaries can I set this week to protect my healing?

What small act of self-compassion can I give myself today?

Chapters

• 0:57 Welcome and Episode Introduction
• 2:06 The Aftermath of Narcissistic Relationships
• 4:51 Steps Toward Healing
• 8:34 Creating New Patterns and Relationships
• 9:42 Journaling Prompts and Final Thoughts

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:29

Welcome to Unleash Your Inner Radiance. I'm Lisa, your catalyst life, wellness, and transformation coach and real estate agent in the state of Minnesota. Last week, we opened up with one of the hardest and most important conversations I've had in probably my two years of podcasting, living with and leaving a narcissist. The messages that I have received since that episode tell me one thing. So many of you needed this conversation. And today I want to take it one step further. Because leaving isn't just the end of the story. This episode is about what happens after you walk away, how you can reclaim your voice, your self-worth, your power. How do you stop replaying the abuse in your mind and finally start living free? So let's recap last episode. And um, we can so we can quickly ground ourselves. We talked about the difference between narcissistic tendencies like someone being self-absorbed and needing attention, or we also talked about narcissistic personality disorder, which is diagnosable, deeply ingrained condition that creates cycles of manipulation and abuse. We broke down the common signs of narcissistic abuse, like gaslighting, manipulation, love bombing, and control. And we acknowledged the reason why women stay longer than they want to, because of fear, guilt, shame, financial independence, and sometimes even hope that that person will change. And we honored the sheer courage that it takes to leave. So if you missed that episode, please go back and listen to it. It really truly lays the foundation for what we're going to dive into today. So we're going to talk about the aftermath of narcissistic relationships. Walking away doesn't flip a magic switch. Emotionally, you will feel confused, grief, or even loss. And all of those can be tangled together. You may feel like you've lost your identity because the narcissist often makes sure your world revolves around them. Then there's the trauma bonds. That confusing attachment that keeps pulling you back towards someone who caused harm. But here's the truth: walking away doesn't mean the wounds will disappear. It means you've chosen healing over harm, but healing is a process. So now we're going to take some steps towards healing. So before you begin, I want to bring some things to light that we really need to think about while we're healing. Awareness. What does that mean? That means calling it what it was. Say the word. Say abuse. It was real, you weren't imagining it. So say it. Boundaries. Boundaries are healing that requires protecting your peace. That may mean cutting off contact, blocking numbers, or simply saying no without an explanation. Rebuilding identity. I want you to ask yourself: who was I before this relationship? Who do I want to become now? Start exploring that woman again. Start exploring who deep down inside you are. Support. Whether it's therapy, coaching, or trusted friends, and I mean trusted friends, you can't do this alone. Because healing absolutely loves community. Self-compassion. That is something we all struggle with. So be kind to yourself. Because the inner critic in your head will be so incredibly loud after that. But healing starts when you replace that critic with compassion. When you replace those words that you're saying to yourself in your head with the opposite, the positive. And that's where I talk a lot about in some of my other episodes of keeping a tablet with you in the car or with you for 24 hours. And every time you have one of those negative thoughts that just keeps saying itself loud and clear in your head, I want you to write that word down because I truly think that after the 24 hours, you're going to have certain words that really stand out to you. And you're going to be able to take those words and reframe them into a positive light. The other thing I have been taught is when you say something to yourself or you think something about yourself, or your brain is just going, going, going, is I want you to name it and then put a jar somewhere by you, or you could just name it, acknowledge it, and stuff it away for later thoughts. Because you've called it out, you've named it. That's all part of your healing. That's how you live beyond the narcissist. So let's dream bigger. You can create new patterns of trust and love with others as well as yourself. And the ones with yourself are going to be the most important. You can redefine what healthy relationships look like, um, where there's mutual respect, safety, and joy are all the baseline of the relationship. And you can shift from survival mode into freedom, joy, and purpose. So here's your power statement for today. Healing after a narcissist isn't just about leaving them behind, it's about rediscovering you, the woman who is worthy of love, peace, and radiance. That is your power statement for today. Healing after a narcissist isn't just about leaving them behind. It's about rediscovering you, the woman who is worthy of love, peace, and radiance. And then I have some journaling prompts for you. One, what part of my identity feels lost after this relationship? Two, what boundaries can I set this week to protect my healing? Three, what small act of compassion can I give myself today? There's that self-love. There it is. There's so much that you can do in terms of self-love. And at this time in your life when you make this decision, you need to give yourself so much compassion, set your boundaries, and give yourself self-love. Because it's going to be hard, it's going to be challenging, but you got this. So, friend, if you are walking this journey right now, I want you to know that you are not alone. Healing after a narcissist is one of the bravest things you can do. And every step you take forward, reclaiming yourself is a step into freedom. If today's episode, albeit a short one, spoke to your heart, please, please, please share it with a friend who needs it. And if you are ready to dive deeper into healing, into forgiveness, I invite you to check out my forgiveness course. It is designed to help women like you release pain and step into peace. Your story isn't over. It's just the beginning. See you on the next episode.