Welcome to Narcissist Apocalypse, everyone. I am Brandon Chadwick, and today we will be debriefing Felix's

Survivor's story. We will be doing key takeaways from Felix Story. And for those of you that have

not listened to Felix's story yet, here is a quick

summary. Felix grew up in a loving and supportive family, but he also learned to express love

by helping, caretaking, and holding things together for other people. And after moving abroad

as a young adult, Felix was diagnosed with HIV and carried deep shame over unknowingly transmitting it to people that he cared about.

He later experienced an abusive relationship that led to a protection order.

And then after returning closer to his family, he worked to rebuild his life through therapy,

teaching, friendships, and singing in a chorus. And Felix met his future partner that this

story was about while traveling to a friend's wedding in another country. Their connection

felt immediate. It felt like it was in a movie. Strangers commented and how good they looked

together. And they just bonded over shared interests. And Felix felt deeply seen and accepted

by this person. And after only a few days, they began a long distance relationship filled with

declarations of love, surprise visits, in conversations about

closing the distance through immigration and marriage. And as this relationship continued,

Felix began doing most of the emotional and practical work. He bought flights. He rearranged his

schedules. He stepped away from the chorus that he loved. He was doing research on

visas, managed the time differences, and tried to support his partner through their anxiety,

depression, and the abuser's recent HIV diagnosis. And at the same time, this partner here

became increasingly demanding, jealous, dishonest, and controlling.

And then text messages and these long distance tapping bracelets eventually become tests of Felix's commitment.

And Felix's emotional experiences were repeatedly dismissed or just redirected back toward the abuse of partner.

...