The first step isn’t fixing yourself. It’s remembering you were never broken.
Dear Survivor,
If you’ve just left a narcissistic relationship, or if you’re still trying to find the strength to go, this question may be echoing inside you: “Where do I even start?”
Healing after narcissistic abuse is not a linear process. It doesn’t begin with answers. It begins with permission. Permission to rest. To grieve. To not have it all figured out. Most of all, permission to believe yourself again.
The first part of healing is getting safe. That means physical safety, emotional space, and freedom from manipulation. Even if the relationship has ended, your nervous system may still be bracing for the next attack. Be gentle with yourself. Slow is okay.
Narcissistic abuse recovery begins with small acts of self-trust, not perfection.
Next comes clarity. Survivors often say, “It was like waking up from a fog.” You begin to see the patterns. The manipulation. The ways you were conditioned to serve someone else’s comfort at the expense of your own truth. This clarity is painful, but also liberating.
And then, rebuilding. Your voice. Your boundaries. Your ability to choose. It can feel unfamiliar at first, like learning to walk again after being told you couldn’t stand. But with each step, you remember that you were powerful all along.
Here are three gentle places to begin:
- Ground your body with simple tools like breathwork or soothing touch.
- Name the abuse without minimizing it. Write it down. Speak it out loud.
- Connect with support that validates, not questions, your experience.
If you’re looking for a supportive place to start, download the Recovery Roadmap. It’s a free resource to help you understand where you are and what’s next, without overwhelm.
You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to go alone. Healing is already happening, because you are here.
Blessings and healing,
Catrina
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