Normalizing Abnormal Behavior: A Sign Of Dysfunction & Abuse

Imagine an environment where the abnormal becomes normalized, & the normal is deemed abnormal.  Dysfunctional & abusive individuals thrive in these distorted realities.  They manipulate & control others by distorting their perception of what is normal & what is not.  This behavior needs to be understood by everyone so we can empower & protect ourselves.

When someone experiences abuse or trauma, it can be incredibly difficult to face the painful reality.  To protect themselves from the overwhelming emotions & memories, some dysfunctional individuals resort to normalizing abnormal behavior.  By convincing themselves & those around them that deviant actions or attitudes inflicted on them are acceptable, they create a narrative to shield them from the truth they are afraid to confront.

For example, consider a woman who is abused by her partner.  Instead of acknowledging the abuse, she convinces herself that his behavior is normal.  She may tell herself that he is just stressed, that he loves her deep down, or that she deserves this treatment due to her own shortcomings.  By normalizing the abuse, she avoids facing the painful reality that someone she loves is hurting her.  This coping mechanism allows her to maintain the illusion of a stable relationship & prevents her from having to make difficult decisions.

Victims of narcissistic abuse often fall into this trap as well.  Narcissists excel at manipulating others & distorting their perception of reality.  They gaslight victims, making them doubt their own experiences & emotions.  As a result, victims may begin to question their sanity & accept the narcissist’s abnormal behavior as normal.  This normalization of abuse enables the narcissist to continue abusing their victim & maintain their power.

While dysfunctional individuals may use normalizing abnormal behavior as a coping mechanism, abusive individuals employ this tactic as a means of control.  Abusers start by gradually introducing abnormal behavior & convincing their victims that it is normal within the context of their relationship.  They may make derogatory comments disguised as jokes, invade their partner’s privacy, or isolate them from friends & family.  By making their victims accept & internalize their abusive actions, they effectively maintain power & dominance over them.  This insidious manipulation creates an environment where abuse becomes normal.

My first marriage is an excellent example of this.  My ex husband constantly belittled me, dismissed my feelings, & manipulated me into thinking I was always the problem.  He rationalized his behavior by saying other women weren’t like me.  By normalizing his abusive actions & making my healthy objections seem abnormal, he gained control over me.  In time, I believed he was right, I deserved this treatment & that it was a normal part of a relationship, which enabled him to continue & escalate his abuse.

Identifying the signs of normalizing abnormal & abnormalizing normal behavior is crucial in protecting ourselves from toxic people. 

One key red flag to watch out for is gaslighting, or manipulating someone’s perceptions of reality, making them doubt their own experiences & memory.  If someone consistently downplays or dismisses your concerns, emotions, or the impact of hurtful or abusive actions, it’s a sign that they are attempting to normalize abnormal behavior.  And, if they say something is wrong with you for your normal or healthy wants, feelings, likes, behaviors, beliefs, etc., that is a red flag that they’re trying to make the normal, abnormal.

Also, trust your intuition.  If something feels off, listen to your gut instinct.  Our intuition senses when something is abnormal or unhealthy, well before our rational mind.  Pay attention to any feelings of unease or discomfort.  Ask God for clarity & seek support from safe individuals who can provide a fresh perspective.

Normalizing abnormal behavior or making normal behavior abnormal is dangerous behavior.  By recognizing the red flags & understanding these tactics, we can protect ourselves.  As anyone who wants healthy relationships, it is crucial to reject these toxic behaviors & foster an environment of love, respect, & authenticity.

One Role Of Denial In Enabling & Excusing Narcissistic Abuse

Denial is a powerful defense mechanism that shields individuals from facing painful truths.  In the case of narcissistic abuse, denial allows people to maintain their perception of their loved one as a good person, despite evidence of their abusive behavior.  They mistakenly think it’s easier to deny or minimize the abuse than to confront the painful reality that someone they once cherished was capable of such evil.

Denial also stems from a fear of the unknown.  Once the abuse is acknowledged, victims & enablers may have to confront the fact that their lives will never be the same.  Leaving an abusive relationship often means dismantling the life they have built, facing financial instability, & dealing with the emotional aftermath of the abuse.  Denial becomes a coping mechanism to avoid the uncertainty & upheaval that comes with leaving an abusive situation.

Denial can be particularly pronounced in cases where the abuser is a family member or most commonly a parent.  Emotional incest between a parent & child, & family loyalty makes it even more challenging for individuals to accept the harsh reality of abuse.  They may cling to the hope that the abuser will change or that their love can somehow fix the situation rather than seeing the abuse for what it truly is.

Victims of narcissistic abuse may also feel embarrassed to admit that they were victimized.  This is particularly true for male victims of female narcissists. 

Society’s perception of male victims of abuse adds another layer of complexity to the issue.  Men are expected to be strong, resilient, & impervious to emotional harm.  This societal stereotype not only undermines the experiences of male victims but also discourages them from seeking help or speaking out about their abuse.  They may fear being judged as weak, foolish, or emasculated, & as a result, suffer in silence.

Also, the belief that women are inherently nurturing & incapable of inflicting harm makes it even harder for male victims to be believed or taken seriously.  Female abusers are very good at hiding behind masks of charm & manipulation, making it easier for them to maintain a facade of innocence.  This deception further isolates male victims, as society fails to acknowledge that women can be just as cruel & abusive as men.

The stigma surrounding male victims of abuse perpetuates a cycle of silence & shame.  Believers in this stigma deny them the opportunity to heal & find support.  It is crucial to challenge these societal norms & promote understanding & empathy for all victims of abuse, regardless of gender.

When someone enables or excuses narcissistic abuse due to denial, it is important to approach the situation with compassion & understanding.  Attempting to force individuals to face the truth prematurely may only deepen their denial.  Instead, offering support, prayer, & empathy creates a safe space for them to process their experiences at their own pace.

As Christians, we are called to love & support one another, particularly those who have suffered abuse.  By listening without judgment, extending a helping hand, & providing support, we can help victims find the strength & courage to face reality. 

By educating ourselves & others, we can promote a more inclusive & compassionate understanding of abuse, recognizing that anyone, regardless of gender, can be a victim.  Breaking the cycle of silence & stigma is vital for empowering victims.

The Real Truth About Denial

Today’s post admittedly sounds different than my usual posts. I hope you’ll continue reading anyway, because I believe the message is important.

I woke up recently from a nightmare, as I often do.  In it, I was driving a young girl somewhere while she used my phone to call one of my relatives.  As a funny aside, I know in the dream I blocked my number from showing up on the relative’s phone when she called.. just as I would do in real life.  Anyway the phone was on speaker, so I could hear the conversation.  It sounded innocent enough.  I was fairly guarded anyway, because although I haven’t had any negative interactions with this relative, I also haven’t had any positive ones either.  I wasn’t sure if this person was safe or unsafe.  This relative asked to speak to me, & the girl looked at me before answering.  I quietly said, “maybe tomorrow” & she said that to the other person.   Suddenly this person’s demeanor went from normal to viciously trashing me.  She said I was selfish to the core, a spoiled brat & many more awful things that my family has said to & about me.  I grabbed the phone to hang up as I drove & that is the point I woke up. 

It triggered a nasty emotional flashback as I woke up.  It emotionally took me right back to the time when my father was dying, when my family attacked me constantly & daily for his final almost three weeks because I didn’t say goodbye to him.  When I was able to physically calm down a bit, I began to pray, as I often do when I have nightmares.  This turned out to be very interesting.   God not only comforted me as usual, but He also told me some things.

God reminded me of that awful time when my family was attacking me, & how He told me then that they did so partly out of denial.  They wanted to believe my father was a great guy, our family was great & I was the problem.  Me not saying goodbye threatened their denial, which is mostly why they were so cruel to me at that time.

He also told me about facing truth opposed to living in denial.  He said denial isn’t simply a poor coping skill.  It comes straight from the devil himself.  Denial is about lying to yourself rather than facing the truth.  Since the enemy hates truth, of course something coming from him would embrace lies & reject truth.  John 8:44 in the Living Bible says, “For you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and a hater of truth—there is not an iota of truth in him. When he lies, it is perfectly normal; for he is the father of liars..” 

People who are deeply entrenched in denial hate anyone who is a threat to it, & will do anything to protect it.  The reason being, God said, is that they become “entwined” with the enemy.  I found that choice of words interesting, so I looked it up to be sure of exactly what it meant.  According to Cambridge dictionary’s website, the definition of entwined is “closely connected or unable to be separated.” 

A person gets into this entwined state so subtly, they fail to recognize it.  It starts out as learning something painful.  Anyone’s natural reaction to pain, physical or emotional, is to pull away from it.  The devil uses this reaction to his advantage.  He convinces people just don’t think about the pain & it won’t hurt anymore.  Simple, subtle & very effective.  This happens repeatedly with other painful things, & the more it happens, the more entwined someone becomes with the enemy.

When a person is deeply entwined with the enemy, they can’t see their bad behavior as bad.  They are so entangled with him that they will not see truth.  They almost never see how their denial hurts other people.  On the rare occasion that they do see it, they are so deceived that they see any person who tries telling the truth as a real problem.  That means they think hurting anyone who tells the truth is acceptable & sometimes even a good thing to do.  With my situation that I mentioned earlier, God showed me at that time that my family truly thought they were doing the right & even Godly thing by trying to harass, bully & shame me into saying goodbye to my father.

Being involved this way with the enemy doesn’t mean they aren’t entwined with him in other areas as well.  Since he found one access point into a person’s life, he certainly can find others just as easily.

I know that all of this may sound hard to believe.  I get that.  However, I firmly believe this to be accurate since it can be backed up by Scripture.  Consider Ephesians 6:12 also from the Living Bible.  It says, “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”  Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the devil & his minions stopped attacking people.  Quite the opposite in fact.  Psalm 55:3, Psalm 38:20, Psalm 64:1, Psalm 69:4, Ephesians 6:11 & 2 Timothy 4:18 are just a few examples.

Please seriously consider what I have said here today.  Pray about it for yourself, & ask God to show you the truth if you have doubts.

The Value Of Appropriate Responsibility

Many people say things absolutely wrong from the perspective of responsibility.  Think of how narcissists apologize, for example.  They say things like, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” which basically makes the victim feel judged & badly for being upset about the abuse that was inflicted on them.  It subtly removes responsibility off the narcissist for being abusive & puts it on the victim for overreacting or being too sensitive.

There are also other less glaringly obvious examples of this behavior that are very common. 

When you apologize, saying, “I’m sorry about that” is pretty vague.  Instead, saying, “I’m sorry I hurt you when I forgot our anniversary” is much better.  Why?  Because it acknowledges the wrong done as well as accepts responsibility for the behavior.  That kind of apology stands a much better chance of gaining forgiveness than a vaguer one does.

It’s also important to use language that isn’t minimizing when discussing abuse.  If you’re confronting your abuser, it makes an impression to tell them, “Screaming at me is unacceptable.  Until you can calm down, talk to me in a normal tone of voice without calling me stupid, I won’t listen to you.”  Saying something like, “You hurt my feelings when you yelled at me & called me names” sounds more like whining, & most abusers won’t listen to that.  It minimizes the abuse & the claims sound vaguer, which give the abuser room to further minimize his or her actions, deny they even happened or even turn the conversation around to you, saying you’re over sensitive or similar nonsense as a way of removing the focus off of them.

Even if you aren’t confronting your abuser, it’s still not a good idea to minimize anything when discussing abuse.  Saying things like, “What happened to me” glosses over the abuse.  It sounds not so bad.  It also sounds like you have some responsibility it it.  Using phrases like, “What was done to me,” or “What they did to me” place the responsibility for what happened to you where it belongs – on your abuser.  This is very important!  Not only does it help people who weren’t abused see that the abuser was responsible for the abuse, but it helps victims as well.  When victims sugar coat the abuse by saying things like, “I was abused” makes them minimize the severity of the events in their mind.  They basically invalidate themselves.  Victims need to be very aware that what happened was terrible & it wasn’t their fault.

If someone tells you that they were abused, then please don’t say things like, “I’m sorry that happened to you.”  That too can be very minimizing.  Instead, say, “I’m so sorry that person did that to you!  That was terrible & wrong, & you didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”  By saying the latter option, you have empowered the victim.  You basically said, “That person did something pretty terrible to you that they shouldn’t have done.  It wasn’t your fault!”  You acknowledge the severity of the situation, & sometimes, victims really need that.  When we see someone other than us is horrified when they find out some of the things done to us. It helps us to take what happened more seriously.  It’s harder to downplay trauma when someone else sees it as traumatic & terrible.

When Victims Act Like The Narcissists Who Abused Them

There is an odd phenomenon that can happen to people who have survived narcissistic abuse & refuse to face it.  They can develop narcissistic tendencies & behavior.

Thankfully, I don’t think this trait is overly common.  Also I don’t think they all are true narcissists, merely showing some tendencies.  Even so, it is a good idea to be aware of the potential for this behavior in victims of narcissistic abuse.

If you’re a victim of narcissistic abuse & are working on your healing, most likely you can be almost paranoid about your behavior.  You’d rather do about anything rather than treat people as the narcissist treated you.  Even so, it’s a good idea to monitor your behavior.  Pay attention to how you speak to people & also how you treat them.  If you hurt someone, also pay attention to your reaction.  Do you apologize immediately to that person or do you make excuses for what you did?  You know the signs of narcissism because you lived through that horror.  This means you should be able to spot those tendencies in yourself easily & are motivated to make appropriate changes.

Those who haven’t admitted to themselves or anyone that their abuser was a narcissist or even abusive at all for that matter don’t have your advantages.  Not working on their healing, they function from a place of dysfunction.  They’re wounded but don’t know it.  They may see some of their behaviors as abnormal but aren’t sure why they are abnormal.  Or, they may not see there is any problem with their behavior.  They are simply behaving as their parents behaved.  When I was in my early 20’s, I realized I was doing that.  My ex husband called me out on saying that a certain band was awful, just because I didn’t like it.  I’m glad he did!  Me not appreciating their sound doesn’t mean the band wasn’t talented.  It simply meant it wasn’t my taste.  That caused me to consider the way I acted in other areas & realized I was behaving in some ways like my parents.  Even though at the time I knew nothing of narcissism, I still didn’t like my behavior & made changes.

It seems many victims of narcissistic abuse find each other.  If this describes you, please be aware of what I talk about here.

Not all victims are the same.  Some are early in their education about narcissism & healing from narcissistic abuse.  They still are going to show plenty of dysfunctional behavior, but the good news is that they’re open to making changes & learning.  Others may be in a similar place to you, & those are the people you probably will feel the most connected to.

Unfortunately, there are also those who are like I have described here.  Please be very aware of those people, because they can hurt you badly, even though it may be unintentional.  I’ve learned this recently from someone I know.  This person was raised by a very covert narcissistic mother, yet never has admitted that fact.  In fact, this person always defended that awful narcissistic mother vehemently.  For years, this person’s behavior was just fine.  Suddenly however, when this person was speaking, the words said were the exact words that person’s narcissistic mother has said!  It was incredibly unsettling & not to mention hurtful.  I know the person didn’t mean to hurt me, but to witness someone who was always a good person suddenly talk like a narcissist was incredibly hard.  In fact, as I write this, I’m not sure if this person will be in my life much longer.  Intentionally narcissistic or not, narcissistic behaviors aren’t something I can handle anymore.

You, Dear Reader, may experience a similar situation.  I hope not, but it is still possible.  Please remember to protect yourself.

Willful Ignorance

Many people realize the truth will set you free.  They know that even the ugly, painful truth is always better than a pretty lie, & no matter how much it may hurt, always aim for truth in their lives.

Then there are other people who are nothing like that.  They prefer pretty lies any day.  They excuse the bad behavior of others readily & deny those people have done anything wrong.  These people are practicing something called willful ignorance.

Willful ignorance is a legal term which basically means a person has made a poor decision to circumvent information as a way for people to avoid making uncomfortable decisions.  On a more personal note, it is the avoidance of information or evidence that would force a person to face something unpleasant.

One of the best examples of this came from my personal life.  As I’ve written about before, at the time my father was dying, I had been no contact with him for several months.  My family attacked me via any means possible daily, trying to force me to go say goodbye to him.  Every time I would block one means, they’d find another.  I finally asked God why.  One of the things He said was that me staying away meant I was proving that not everything was ok.  If I would have gone, that would have shown them that my father was the great guy they wanted to believe he was.  I was threatening their willful ignorance. 

This also happens in cases where a person is abused by their parent, spouse, in-laws, etc. & other people refuse to believe it rather than get involved & try to protect the victim.

While it is certainly understandable to avoid painful things, willful ignorance is incredibly dysfunctional.  It sets people up for disappointment & unnecessary suffering because they refuse to acknowledge the warning signs most people see.  It hurts those closest to those who engage in this behavior because they are helpless to help the person they love.  These people are so devoted to their dysfunction that they will ignore what the person who loves them says, & will fight with them to protect their denial.

It is so hard being in this situation, whether you are the one practicing willful ignorance or the one who loves someone who practices it.

If you are the one practicing it, please stop!  I know the truth can be scary & painful, but by avoiding facing that, you’re hurting yourself, not helping yourself.  You need to know that God loves you & will help you to face whatever needs facing.  If you have trouble with that due to having an abusive parent figure in your life, He understand that too!  Be honest & tell Him just how you feel.  It’s ok!  I can promise you, He won’t cast you into hell or strike you down with a lightening bolt.  He will gently help you to see you can trust Him which will help you to start facing the painful things you must face.

And, if you are someone who loves a person who is willfully ignorant, I want you to know that God understands your pain & frustration.  Ask Him to show you how to support our loved one in a healthy way.  He will!  Don’t get sucked into the dysfunction either.  Stick to the truth & don’t let this person convince you of their false beliefs.  Keep your boundaries in place & protect yourself from the dysfunction of this situation.  This person has the right to engage in their dysfunction to their heart’s content, but you also have the right to engage in healthier ways.  Part of that means protecting yourself & not getting involved in their dysfunction.

A Bit About Denial

Denial is an unhealthy coping mechanism in which people refuse to acknowledge that something is happening in order to make themselves more comfortable & to avoid facing the ugly truth.  There are different facets of denial & those with narcissistic parents are well aware of many of them.

One form of denial is when narcissists deny doing anything wrong.  They may justify their actions by blaming their victims or deny altogether that they did anything wrong at all.  Either way, they refuse to take any responsibility for their actions & deny that their actions are hurting another person.

Those close to a narcissist also often deny the abuse is happening.  If a victim reaches out to others, to their family in particular, chances are excellent that they will be met with invalidating & even shaming statements.  They may also be accused of lying about the narcissist.

Such forms of denial are destructive to victims.  They teach the victim that she can’t trust her own perceptions, feelings, thoughts & even sanity.  Denial also teaches victims that their feelings & thoughts are unworthy, that they shouldn’t bother people with them.  That easily can lead to the destruction of a victim’s self esteem.  In turn, this can lead to a person tolerating all manners of abuse, because they feel unworthy to defend themselves or they simply don’t believe that their feelings or perceptions of a situation are accurate.

Although coping with such awful experiences & the aftermath is hard, it can be done successfully.

You’ll need to depend on God.  A lot.  He knows the truth of the situation, so you can count on Him to show you what the truth is whenever you have any doubts.  Never hesitate to ask Him to help you, because He will be glad to do so!

Keeping a journal is very helpful too.  Write about the traumatic events as soon as you can after they happen, & be sure to include dates & lots of details.  If later someone says, “That never happened!” you can go back & see that yes, it DID happen! If those things didn’t happen, you wouldn’t have written about them!

I also recommend writing your story.  Naturally it’s your choice whether or not to publish it or any part of it, but at the very least, write it out.  Seeing your story in writing will help validate your experiences by making them seem more real.  Only remembering things isn’t as validating, I think, because you can convince yourself you just don’t remember things right.  That is especially easy to do when a narcissist is telling you that you’re remembering things all wrong.  Writing your story also can help you to see just what the narcissist is capable of by reminding you of things she already has done, & that can help you to deal with her.  Seeing your story in writing is also an excellent reminder never to underestimate her.  Writing your story is a very difficult step, but it is truly worth the difficulties.

When either the narcissist or others invalidate you, another good step to take is to remind yourself what they are doing.  They don’t want to face the ugly truth that this person is incredibly abusive.  They are trying to shut you up only to make themselves more comfortable.  The good news is that this means their actions have nothing to do with you.  The bad news is that knowing that doesn’t always make their actions not hurt.  This knowledge can take some of the sting out of their actions though, & anything that helps to do that is a good thing in my book.

Denial

Denial is a common survival tool of victims of all types of abuse.  Pretending things didn’t happen, weren’t that bad or there was a good reason your abuser acted as she did are all forms  of denial.

 

Denial may help you to cope for a while, but it shouldn’t be a permanent solution.  It can be very unhealthy.

 

It enables you to avoid facing the damage done & the pain you feel.  Although that may feel good for a short time, in the long run, it can hurt your physical & mental health.  Stifling emotions can create anxiety, depression, headaches, body aches with no physical cause, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes & more.

 

Denial may get you through a bad situation as it’s happening, but otherwise, it has no benefits.  I know facing the ugly truth can be hard, but I want to encourage you, Dear Reader, to face it.  As hard as it may be, it’s actually much easier in the long run than denial is.

 

Facing the truth allows you to heal.  When you no longer deny the facts, you can see the situation for what it is, then deal with it & heal from the damage.

 

Staying in denial often also means staying in an abusive situation.  Many people think they don’t have a right to be upset about their situation because their narcissistic parent wasn’t as bad as someone else’s, or at least their abusive husband didn’t beat them like their friend’s did, so they continue to have a close relationship with their abuser.  There is no logic at all in this!  Abuse is abuse, period!  It’s all bad!  Degrees of abuse don’t matter.  What does matter is no one should tolerate being abused!

 

When you know you need to start facing certain things, it’s time to get into prayer.  Ask God to help you.  Ask Him for strength & courage.  Ask Him to enable you to face whatever you need to, & only to allow you to face what you are able to at any given time.  You will be glad you did this as you begin to face ugly truths.  And, you’ll be glad you started facing those truths once you realize how much healthier you’ve become!