In case you haven’t heard of him, Ross Rosenberg is an online guru who tackles the issues of “codependency” in relation to those in a relationship with a narcissist.   He has numerous youtube videos, as well as a book called The Human Magnet Syndrome.  The idea that empaths are particularly preyed upon by narcissists explains how many of us get into these relationships, but it does little to explain why we stay, as I did.  The premise behind  most of the writings about this label the empath as “codependent”, a word that I understand, but has done little to help me recover and move forward.   In this youtube video, Rosenberg concisely and accurately explains why the label “codependent” is useless, and he suggests that the more accurate diagnosis is self-love deficit disorder.  For me, this makes much more sense in terms of what I believe are the issues I need to address, and it feels more useful in terms of how I need to proceed in my recovery.

I hope it will be helpful to some of you.