Art That Overcomes

Each one of us has so many different parts that make up who we are… our personality, past trauma, and other memorable moments that shape who we have become. And it’s normal for us to have certain parts of ourselves that we’re not as comfortable with. We may actively try to avoid those parts, or our subconscious mind may be pushing them down for us. What’s more, as Overcomers of narcissistic abuse,...

The strategic use of color has always been a central component of any form of visual art. And not just for the aesthetic value or visual effect that different colors and color combinations provide. Colors…in different shades, hues, levels of saturation, in different quantities, applied with different textures and gestures, and in different artistic styles… they can all be used to *symbolize* a var...

I’ve often said that within the creative process there is no impulse control required. By which I mean that as long as you’re being safe and not harming yourself or others, the creative artmaking process is one of the few places in life where you can truly be free, let loose, be yourself, and express what you need to express. All without judgment, expectations, or limitations. I believe this is tr...

Learning to use our voice, speak our truth, and honestly share our opinions and preferences isn’t something that comes easily for Overcomers of narcissistic abuse. We’ve been taught that our voice doesn’t matter, and then, even after the abuse ends, our brains tend to stay stuck in a subconscious pattern of making ourselves small. If learning to use your voice has been difficult as you’ve transiti...

Today I'm sharing four quick insights that art has taught me about recovery from narcissistic abuse. While there are countless personal, individual lessons I’ve learned over the years of using art in my healing journey, there are also bigger, overarching themes. And I’m sharing four of them today!  As you listen to me list out the four things I’ve learned, I encourage you to reflect on which o...

Welcome, Overcomer! Today's episode is a special training that will give you a bit of my background, why what you're doing to recover from narcissistic abuse might not be working, and what to do instead. Specifically, I'll be explaining the top 3 things I've found that ultimately helped me get unstuck and build the confidence I was so desperately lacking after the abuse. You'll...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Welcome to this special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to new thoughts, emotions...

Next Wednesday, we'll be starting a special series of the Art That Overcomes podcast to kick off the spring season! For me, this time of year symbolizes a spirit of newness and growth. Temperatures are gradually getting warmer, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, trees are budding, and flowers are starting to bloom. My invitation for you in this season is to bravely open yourself up to ne...

Codependency. This is no doubt a word you’ve heard a lot during your recovery from narcissistic abuse, especially if you’re in therapy or coaching of any kind. And we can have a lot of different reactions to this word. Some view codependent traits as extremely toxic, some don’t like this term at all and claim we’re all codependent in one way or another, and some people, like me, feel that the answ...

For so many survivors, trauma symptoms linger on for months, years, and even decades after the relationship has ended. My advice today might challenge you, but I promise it is the single most important step I took to move me toward healing. It’s not a popular opinion. It’s not what the most successful narcissistic abuse coaches are teaching. It may be hard for you to hear. And that’s okay. My appr...

Hey, Overcomer. I want to do a couple of things on today’s episode. First, I want to take some time to sum up my final thoughts related to the artwork I shared in the previous two episodes, about, ‘What does it mean to be a work in progress?’. Since I was sharing the artwork in real time, there was a lot for me to process, and I’ve since realized there are some final insights that I haven’t commun...

As promised, I’m back with part two of 'What does it mean to be a work in progress?'. Last week I shared about the feeling of discomfort around receiving positive attention (even though deep down, that’s exactly what I want from others), and ended up uncovering feelings of being scared and trapped and disconnected from my sense of self. I’d pulled out two old self portraits from nearly 20 years ag...

I’ve got these two pen and ink self portraits that I drew soon after I graduated college, around the fall of 2004. I was feeling very lost in life, not sure what to do next. Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation…I had spent the previous 17 or 18 years as a student. My identity was very much wrapped up in that role. So, now that I’d graduated and didn’t have a firm career plan laid out (or, let’...

Have you ever read the children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? I love this book because I think all of us can relate to Alexander. It seems that nothing is going right for him, and he can only see his circumstances through a negative lens, where he’s the victim to everyone and everything. He repeatedly tells his friends, family, and teachers that he’s having a...

"How do you work through confusion to find direction and clarity after leaving an abusive relationship with a narcissist? That’s a good question, right? It’s hard to know which way is up when you’re in survival mode, and then even as things start to calm down in life, we can get so stuck in indecisiveness that we’re not really moving forward. We’re living an 'ok' life…but are we growing? Are we pr...

"Something I love about being an artist and writer is that the work I create continues to exist long after I create it (whether in digital or physical form) and I can access it and reflect on it weeks, months, and years later. In this sense, it kind of has a life all its own. As I said…it exists. It is its own thing. I’ve supplied the thoughts, words, colors, emotions, and actions to make it come...

I know that this holiday season may be hard for you. From reminders of past traumas, to navigating difficult schedules with co-parents, to putting on a fake happy face for family and friends… the holiday season is anything but merry and bright for so many Overcomers of narcissistic abuse. I can relate. That’s why I’m bringing you a very intentional series of podcast episodes to help support you th...

I know that this holiday season may be hard for you. From reminders of past traumas, to navigating difficult schedules with co-parents, to putting on a fake happy face for family and friends… the holiday season is anything but merry and bright for so many Overcomers of narcissistic abuse. I can relate. That’s why I’m bringing you a very intentional series of podcast episodes to help support you th...