The Mental Healness Podcast

In this powerful episode of The Mental Healness Podcast, domestic violence survivor and advocate Jennie Gage shares how she escaped a 24-year abusive marriage and rebuilt her life from the ground up. Jennie discusses financial abuse, post-separation violence, religious trauma, a hidden double life, infidelity, trauma bonds, and the difficult reality of starting over with children after divorce. Sh...

Hayden Panettiere’s story has renewed difficult conversations about domestic abuse, toxic relationship cycles, family estrangement, and the complicated reasons people stay connected to harmful people. In this video, Lee Hammock discusses documented reports about Panettiere’s on-and-off relationship with Brian Hickerson, who pleaded no contest in 2021 to two felony counts involving corporal injury...

Why do people break no contact with a narcissist or toxic ex? In this live call-in conversation, five survivors of narcissistic abuse share the real reasons they went back, including love, hope, trauma bonds, co-parenting, guilt, promises of change, stalking, and the need for validation. Lee Hammock responds to each story with practical insight on no contact, hoovering, smear campaigns, safety, an...

Why do you miss a narcissist or toxic ex even when you know they hurt you? In this video, Lee Hammock explains the inner conflict between logic and emotion after narcissistic abuse, including self-gaslighting, trauma bonds, and the urge to break no contact just to make the pain stop. Learn why reconnecting can feel like temporary relief but often restarts the healing cycle and creates more shame....

Some of the biggest toxic relationship red flags feel romantic in the beginning. In this video, Lee Hammock breaks down behaviors that can be mistaken for love, including constant contact, rushing intimacy, jealousy, big promises, isolation, boundary pushing, and love bombing. Learn the difference between genuine interest and controlling behavior that slowly takes over your time, confidence, and r...

Why do narcissist enablers defend toxic behavior and pressure you to stay? This video explains why family members, friends, and other flying monkeys may make excuses, blame the survivor, or carry information back to the narcissistic person. Learn how fear, family dynamics, validation, loyalty, and the desire to avoid becoming the next target can keep the cycle going. You will also learn why protec...

In one of the most powerful and emotional episodes of the Mental Healness Podcast, host Lee Hammock sits down with survivor and creator Tonya, widely known as Burned Beauty 2018 . Tonya shares her deeply moving story of surviving a 15-year toxic relationship that escalated to the unthinkable: being intentionally doused in lighter fluid and set on fire by her husband. Tonya opens up about enduring...

Can you heal while you are still in a relationship with a narcissist, toxic partner, or emotionally unsafe person? In this video, Lee Hammock explains the difference between surviving, coping, and genuinely healing while the harmful relationship dynamic is still active. Learn how trauma bonds, manipulation, gaslighting, broken boundaries, and constant emotional stress can interfere with recovery....

Diagnosed narcissist Lee Hammock explains why narcissistic, toxic, or abusive partners rarely change, even when they promise therapy, growth, or a fresh start. I break down front-loading and love bombing, why rewarded behavior never stops, and why hoping they'll improve keeps survivors stuck in narcissistic paralysis. I also share my own rock-bottom story and explains why change only happens w...

Why do narcissists get angry when you move on even if they cheated, left, or appear happy in a new relationship? In this video, Lee Hammock explains how ego, jealousy, control, narcissistic rage, and the need to maintain the upper hand can fuel that reaction. You’ll learn why some toxic exes lash out, interfere with new relationships, or suddenly love-bomb a new partner after seeing you happy. Thi...

What does a narcissist really think when you are trauma bonded to them and cannot let them go? As a clinically diagnosed, self-aware narcissist, I explain why they may not care about your trauma bond, but can still take full advantage of it through repeated forgiveness, access, attention, sex, money, and control. We’ll talk about why asking them to block you usually does not work, why they may int...

In this powerful Mental Healness Podcast interview, Taylor Stevens shares how she survived 14 years with a narcissistic gambling addict and reclaimed her life through no contact. She opens up about love bombing, financial abuse, gambling debts, alcoholism, isolation, gaslighting, physical abuse, stalking, and being pushed to doubt her own reality. Taylor describes spending more than half a million...

In this video, I break down why narcissists are going to be toxic no matter who they’re with and why their abuse is not proof that you weren’t “enough.” Research shows that narcissistic people repeat the same relationship patterns over and over, cycling through love bombing, devaluation and discard with each new partner instead of actually changing. I’ll explain how they adapt their mask to differ...

In this video, I talk from the heart about why I genuinely feel bad for people stuck with narcissists who will likely never experience real happiness while they stay in these toxic, parasitic relationships. As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I explain how your mind and body adapt to constant abuse, how struggle starts to feel “normal,” and why you can end up losing friends, family a...

In this video, I explain the “reverse discard”. When a narcissist emotionally gets rid of you, treats you horribly, and pushes you to end the relationship so they can play the victim and move on fast. As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I walk through how they disconnect from you, rage, nitpick everything you do, and then say “You broke up with me” to justify a new partner, a fairyta...

In this video, I break down the main differences between an overt narcissist and a covert narcissist, two faces of the same disorder that show up very differently in relationships. Overt (grandiose) narcissists are loud, attention‑seeking and openly entitled, while covert (vulnerable) narcissists are more introverted, sensitive, passive‑aggressive and often hide their self‑importance behind fake h...

In this video, I break down how misogyny and narcissism overlap, and why so many misogynistic men show classic narcissistic traits like entitlement, lack of empathy and a belief they’re superior to women. Drawing on research that links narcissism and hostile sexism, as well as my own perspective as a clinically diagnosed narcissist, we’ll talk about how viewing women as “less than,” objectifying t...

Trying to explain your feelings to a narcissist is like trying to explain color to someone who refuses to open their eyes, most of them don’t respect your emotions or your boundaries, they respect consequences. In this video, I break down three things that could actually make a narcissist think twice: the no‑explanation boundary, the immediate if/then consequence, and emotional indifference when t...

In this video, I speak directly to the people who keep taking a narcissistic partner back, hoping that one day they’ll finally pick you, appreciate your sacrifices and see your worth. As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I explain why putting up with cheating, lies, abuse and low effort does not make you more valuable to them, it makes you more expendable, and why they resent you for...

In this video, I break down why ignoring your intuition around narcissistic and toxic people almost always ends in regret. As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I share real coaching stories of hidden families, “just best friends” who were more than friends, and the way manipulators override your gut feeling with charm, lies and love‑bombing. You’ll learn why no one is ever “thrilled”...

In this video, I tackle one of the most painful questions survivors ask: “Did they ever really care about me, or was it all fake?” As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I explain how narcissistic people can have a limited emotional capacity, why some can only give you all the 'love they have' and why that still doesn’t excuse abuse. We’ll talk about why you stayed, why they put...

In this video, I break down why narcissists hate it when you block them everywhere—phone, text, social media and email and why their reaction is NOT your fault. As a clinically diagnosed, self‑aware narcissist, I explain how blocking cuts off their narcissistic supply, triggers a massive ego injury, and exposes their need for control. You’ll learn what to expect when you go no contact, how they mi...

In this video, I explain why you should leave the very first time someone lies to you in dating or relationships, from the perspective of a clinically diagnosed narcissist who knows how “little lies” grow into entire fake lives. We’ll talk about why a relationship built on even one dishonest foundation stone will eventually crumble, how age lies on dating apps turn into lies about education, job,...

In this episode of the Mental Healness Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Shara Ally; psychiatric nurse practitioner, professor, TEDx Top‑50 Charter Speaker, and creator of the viral #TooAttached Movement to talk about why we get too attached to the wrong people and how to rebuild self‑trust after narcissistic and toxic relationships. We dive into her journey from being the “uncool” hyper‑observant kid...

Why is being a “ride or die” for a narcissistic or toxic partner is one of the worst decisions you can make, from the perspective of a clinically diagnosed narcissist who’s watched survivors emotionally die in these relationships. We’ll talk about how narcissists play the victim to hook your empathy, convince you that everyone has abandoned them, and turn your loyalty into a one‑way street where y...