A slight change in someone’s tone feels like a warning siren for victims of narcissistic abuse. This abuse trains your brain to be hyper-aware of danger. When you’ve lived with someone whose moods could flip in an instant, you learn to pick up on the smallest shifts in their voice, facial expression, or body language.
This level of hyper-awareness doesn’t just shut off when the narcissist is gone. You might find yourself overanalyzing text messages, replaying conversations in your head, or feeling anxious when someone’s tone shifts slightly. Social interactions become exhausting because your brain is working overtime to decode every little detail, trying to predict an attack that may never come.
Trauma expert Dr. Janina Fisher calls this faulty neuroception, where your brain sees threats where there are none because it’s been wired to expect them. But here’s the truth: not every sigh means someone is mad at you, and not every pause means rejection. Healing starts when you remind yourself that you’re safe now and that not every expression hides a storm.
Number Eight: Your Brain Becomes Wired for Learned Helplessness
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