February 2026 - The Thriving ACoN

Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Gen X - Generational Trauma - Gratitude - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

I’ll Take My Bacon Crispy, Please

February 26, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

Today I turn 51. Which means somewhere in my brain, I’m staring at a breakfast plate with bacon arranged into the number 51. If you know, you know. Last year, at 50, I found myself standing in the wreckage of the Mom-pocalypse.This year, at 51, I’m just… eating breakfast calmly.…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Financial Abuse - Gen X - Generational Trauma - Hypervigilance - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

When the Chaos Finally Makes Sense

February 24, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

For most of my life, chaos was just… normal. I didn’t call it trauma.I didn’t call it instability.I didn’t call it survival. I called it life. Broken homes.Sudden moves.Emotional volatility.Unspoken threats.Secrets that didn’t make sense until decades later.Responsibilities placed on me long before I had the nervous system to carry…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Generational Trauma - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

What Is cPTSD?

February 19, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

Understanding Complex Trauma and Its Lasting Impact For years, I thought trauma was something that happened in a single, catastrophic moment. A car accident.A violent assault.A natural disaster. That’s how most of us were taught to understand PTSD. But what happens when the trauma isn’t one moment —when it’s the…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Generational Trauma - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

Narcissism and Nihilism

February 17, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

When Nothing Feels Real After Everything Was Manipulated One of the quieter side effects of narcissistic abuse is something people don’t talk about much: Nihilism. Not the edgy, intellectual kind.Not the “nothing matters, so let’s burn it down” kind. But the hollow, disoriented kind —where meaning itself feels unreliable. After…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Generational Trauma - Hypervigilance - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

Fear Is a Business Model (And Trauma Survivors Pay the Price)

February 12, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

There was a time I thought my reaction to the news meant something was wrong with me. That I was weak.Avoidant.Uninformed.“Burying my head in the sand.” But after naming my cPTSD — after finally understanding how my nervous system was shaped — I see it clearly now: The problem isn’t…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Generational Trauma - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

“That’s My Secret — I’m Always Angry”

February 10, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

There’s a moment in The Avengers that trauma survivors recognize instantly. In the middle of chaos, Captain America turns to Bruce Banner and says: “Dr. Banner, now might be a good time for you to get angry.” Bruce doesn’t raise his voice.He doesn’t tense up.He doesn’t hesitate. He simply replies:…

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Financial Abuse - Generational Trauma - Hypervigilance - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

What “ACoN” Means — And What It Doesn’t

February 5, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

Adult Child of Narcissist (ACoN): what it really means, what it doesn’t, and why the term is about understanding trauma—not blame or immaturity.

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Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Gen X - Generational Trauma - Hypervigilance - Music as a Mirror - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - Recovery - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

When the Pain Is Invisible

February 3, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

I’ve been thinking a lot about Chester Bennington lately—not because of how his story ended, but because of how much of his living story feels familiar. Not the fame.Not the stage.Not the screaming crowds. The inside. Chester spent his life translating something unspeakable into sound. Rage, grief, abandonment, self-blame, shame—wrapped…

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