Substance Abuse

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

  I Grew Anyway

  September 10, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  I was walking past this tree recently when something about it stopped me. At first, it was the shape. You don’t need to be an arborist to look at those enormous bends in the trunk and realize that this tree did not grow according to plan. Something happened. Maybe the…

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

  The Letter I’ll Never Send

  January 29, 2026 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  To the woman who called herself my mother, You spent a lifetime convincing me you were the victim. You wore that mask so tightly you almost convinced me, too. For years I believed your pain was my fault — that if I just loved harder, explained better, or tried one…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Generational Trauma - Hypervigilance - Recovery - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  Why My Emotions Got Stronger After Naming My cPTSD

  December 23, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  For most of my life, I thought addiction was the problem. The shame.The struggle.The guilt.The constant attempts to “fix myself.”The belief that if I could just stop that, everything else would finally fall into place. But the truth — the truth I didn’t discover until the Mom-pocalypse resulted in the…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Spirituality - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  Faith & Trauma — Part 4: Why I Chose No Contact — And Why I Still Pray for Her

  December 21, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  There’s a version of the No Contact story that gets told a lot. It’s the anger version. And don’t get me wrong — I absolutely have every right to be angry. What was done to me was despicable.The lies.The manipulation.The threats.The decades of deception.The refusal to tell the truth even…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Financial Abuse - Financial Stability - Gratitude - Hypervigilance - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Spirituality - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma - Triggers

  Faith & Trauma — Part 3: When Faith Stops Being a Performance

  December 14, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  I was raised in an extremely conservative expression of Christianity — the Church of Christ. I’m not here to bash that tradition. There are good people there.Sincere people.Faithful people. But inside my family system, church didn’t feel like refuge. It felt like performance. Who I Thought I Was Performing For…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Financial Abuse - Gen X - Hypervigilance - Invalidation - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Spirituality - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  No Contact Isn’t a Trend — Some of Us Bled Into It

  December 9, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  On the internet lately, No Contact gets discussed like a hashtag.A concept.A brand of liberation.A generational identity marker. And listen — I’m genuinely grateful for that shift. I truly am.Language saves lives.Early awareness changes trajectories. But it’s important to say this clearly: No Contact didn’t begin with Millennials or Gen…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Spirituality - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  Faith & Trauma — Part 2: When Boundaries Become Biblical Integrity

  December 7, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  After everything in my life finally came into the light — the lies, the manipulation, the emotional chaos — I had to face a hard truth: I had confused patience with permission. And Scripture never called me to confuse the two. Peace Has Limits in the Bible One verse used…

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  Adverse Childhood Experiences - Boundaries - cPTSD - Emotional Abuse - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Spirituality - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  Faith & Trauma — Part 1: Honor Does Not Mean Enduring Abuse

  November 30, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  I come from a family where faith runs deep. On my biological father’s side especially, Christianity isn’t just a belief — it’s a way of life. And like many people raised around Scripture, one verse came up again and again growing up: “Honor your father and mother.” — Exodus 20:12…

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  Bitcoin - Boundaries - cPTSD - Financial Stability - Gratitude - Narcissistic Parent - No Contact - Recovery - Substance Abuse - Survivor - Trauma

  Gratitude — Thanksgiving 2025

  November 27, 2025 - By Andrew Pumpelly

  For most of my life, I thought gratitude only came after everything was healed, settled, and safe. Now I know better. Gratitude is what grows in the middle of the ashes — after the unmasking, after the collapse, after the truth burns everything down and you’re still standing. Today is…