I read this really interesting book once called The Body Keeps The Score, about how trauma is written onto our very tissues. There was an interesting section which explained why woman return to abusive households, and it's often due to the fact this kind of situation feels like home or safe to them, especially if they were brought up in that kind of environment. It was a real a ha moment - I always wondered why woman didn't leave in the first instance. I would run at the first red flag.
I really enjoyed the story, but there's one line that kinda bothers me:
He played the victim perfectly, his narcissism shielding him from any real self-reflection.
If he was narcissistic, no way would he have been haunted enough to jump off the bridge.
Yes, true that he probably wouldn't.. and yet, I've experienced momenta where I thought they would break, where they actually confess to their behaviour, and yet, either show they were prospecting what benefit they can get from a feigned broken wing or quickly bury it away - 🤔 how much can stay buried?
Looking at how that doctor appealed and manoeuvred afterwards to seemingly save his own skin is pretty telling 😒