Book Review: "Good Morning, Monster" By Catherine Gildiner

 “The only thing I do know is that when your mother labels you negatively, you believe her—for who else forms your self-image?”

― Catherine Gildiner, Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Emotional Recovery

“powerlessness in a relationship is one of the main causes of stress or anxiety. Making psychological changes also provokes anxiety. It’s very hard to break a habit, especially when you’ve adapted yourself to a particular pattern that, however maladaptive, has kept you alive. The unconscious is powerful, and it will fight to the death to keep an old pattern in place.”

― Catherine Gildiner, Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Emotional Recovery

Now on to the show as we celebrate a revelation of sorts in this one with the therapist equally engaged  and reflective as the clients.

What I've often told those I council in abusive situations with focus on NPD and DV is that there's a DSM manual in which these personality trait disorders arise from and are discussed in their entirety.

You simply cannot fix everything in a few sessions, a few hours, or even a few years. Often times it bears repeating that the psyche is permeable, hardened over time, and comes to accept what may be inaccuracies deemed as truths.

It's up to each individual to come to terms with the reality that they may have been handed a bad hand but you don't have to play all your cards .Overcoming the evil that has been placed upon you  will take insight, empathy, compassion, patience, and supportive structures in place.

I'm pleased to see that these individual clients were so beneficial in lessons learned, in the recovery, in the transition in setting much needed boundaries and applying them.

What I've found in dealing with malignant narcissists (as a survivor of one) is that they are out to destroy those they claim to love. Love is not something they provide as it stems from a false sense of self. Rather what they offer is empty promises, broken dreams, and a history of failed relationships.

Over the course of time the facade cracks, the mask comes off, the truth becomes known and this is when the devalue and discard comes to the forefront of a relationship that was often quickly consummated and quickly developed.

The fact that Gildiner was able to account various situations resulting from the client's experience awarded readers and therapist alike valuable insight into the working of the mind as well as the recovery and rebuilding stages immediately following the aftermath.

I'm glad to see many of the clients went on to become fully authentic and lead healthy, happy, productive lives.

A valuable read for those interested in psychology, toxicity, personality trait disorders, and the emotional recovery process.