April 2026 - The Thriving ACoN

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

Tuning Into Recovery: Old Interests Returning After Trauma

April 26, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

There’s a moment in recovery that nobody really prepares you for. It’s not the anger, and it’s not the grief. It’s not even the relief. It’s something quieter than that—the moment you catch yourself thinking, “Wait… I used to love this.” And it doesn’t show up as a memory. It…

Continue Reading
Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Emotional Abuse - Generational Trauma - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

Anger Isn’t the Opposite of Healing

April 9, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

One of the strangest expectations placed on people healing from trauma is this idea that recovery should look peaceful. Calm.Forgiving.Soft-spoken. As if healing automatically means becoming endlessly understanding about the people who hurt you. But many Adult Children of Narcissists discover something uncomfortable along the way: Healing often comes with…

Continue Reading
Adult Children of Narcissists - Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - cPTSD Healing - Gen X - Generational Trauma - Music as a Mirror - Narcissistic Abuse Recovery - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

Music as a Mirror: Stabbing Westward’s “Save Yourself” and the Moment the Rescue Mission Ended

April 7, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

Some songs hit you differently once you’ve lived long enough to understand what they were really saying. For years, Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward was one of those songs for me. I always felt it. But I didn’t fully understand why. Not until after Judgment Day. Not until the illusion…

Continue Reading
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 - Recovery - Survivor - Trauma

When One Job Isn’t Enough — And Survival Mode Starts to Feel Familiar Again

April 2, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

For a growing number of people in the U.S. and Canada, and I’m sure other developed nations as well, one full-time job is no longer enough to make ends meet. On the surface, that’s an economic issue. Rising costs. Stagnant wages. Inflation. Debt. But for trauma survivors—especially those of us…

Continue Reading