If you've landed on this page, it's because you want to share your story and help others improve their lives. That's very brave of you, so thank you.
However, going through our process can be traumatic all over again, so reach out to a friend, counselor or therapist and discuss your plans for starting our podcast guest form process. You are the only person who can determine your readiness to start writing and sharing your story.
*** A big warning. Not all episodes we shoot air for various reasons. This does not make your experience any less valid than others. If you feel that you cannot mentally cope with not being on the air, then it is better not to start the process. If you NEED your story to be heard, this isn't the best place to tell it either. Our program is for the benefit of the listener, not you. Yes, telling your story on our podcast can be a cathartic experience, but we ask that you always think about your role as an educator in this process. ***
If you've made it this far, let's start with some FYIs.
1) Everything is anonymous.
2) We filmed almost all, but not all episodes air. If you think you're going to feel very rejected if that happens, then it's best not to record. Telling a story is not easy. Most people are not born to tell stories. Our duty is to the public and not to you.
3) The Narcissistic Apocalypse has many goals. The first goal is to make everyone feel less alone by validating what they've been through, what you've been through. The second objective is to show how the manipulations worked and why they worked. We believe that people will feel less shame when they see how crimes against them have been perpetrated. The third objective is to give survivors a vocabulary. If you explain your feelings/shades of abuse, you will be giving other survivors a vocabulary. Once a survivor has a vocabulary, it can help set the stage for change. And the end goal is all the little learning lessons. From reconnaissance tactics to how you handled abuse, courts, custody and escape plans. Everything is helpful, especially the things you learned about yourself in the process. Narcissist Apocalypse is not just a show about abuse. For us, it's also a show about self-discovery.
THE 4 TYPES OF STORIES
There are 4 types of stories for our program. Family, spiritual/religious/worship, friend and relationship. For stories about the workplace, visit thePodcast about toxic workplaces.
Family stories are the hardest stories to tell. There is no formula for them. Most of them aren't the length we're looking for and most just jump from one story to the next. So if you're uploading a family story, think about what you want your audience to learn. What is the general theme? Please reflect on your experience and your feelings. Effective storytelling isn't just "And then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened." You need to set a scene. A state of mind. What was my family life like? Why do they act and react like this? How do these things affect you away from home? How do these things end up getting in the way of your life as an adult? How are you healing? IS THERE any way to create a beginning, middle and end. Think about all these things and send us the main points of your story.
For spiritual/religious/cult, friend and relationship stories, they generally fall into the formula we use below.
Part 1 - Things to think about. What was your life like before the relationship? What was your family life like? How were your relationships? Were you a people pleaser, a perfectionist, feared failure, or had low self-esteem, etc.? Did you have difficult beliefs about relationships or life? Did you think relationships required work? Do you think people should always get a second chance? What if the divorce is embarrassing? Not everyone has these kinds of issues beforehand, but we're doing our best to understand the psychology of why someone stays and why manipulations work. Set the scene of your life.
Part 2: This is where trust and "love addiction" are created. Explain how they met. What love bombing and trust building tactics were used? For example, mirroring, faking the future, bonding through shared trauma, being seen for the first time, playing the victim (you can be a caregiver), etc. Tell us why you think these tactics worked for you. Were things so overwhelming that you couldn't see what was really going on? How did you plant the seeds of confidence? What kind of seeds were they planting to justify the behavior? Were there red flags that were mitigated? How did they do it? When was the moment you officially got hooked? Was there an event that sealed the deal? What was the biggest bait that hooked you and why?
Part 3: *** Sometimes this section doesn't fit every story. Every now and then you have a scammer on your hands who is using you to make money. They are never devaluing you because they want the goose that lays the golden eggs to last forever. However, they often lead a double life that you don't know about, most likely they are at least cheating. *** This is where devaluation usually starts, although it can happen early on as they can do limit tests to see what they can do. What kind of devaluations are you facing? How do they smooth it out? How do these things make you feel? What manipulation tactics are used? Why do these tactics work and how do they make you feel? Have tactics changed over time? Have you lived in fear, obligation and guilt? Go down this rabbit hole. Were there periods when things went well? Explain the addiction aspect of things if you can. If you got smart about things, did the tactics change? What were you thinking about yourself, your partner, the relationship? When did you start to get lost? With the different tactics, how did you react differently? What are the beliefs and reasons why you stay? Explain the psychology of it all. What is the hook that keeps you close the most? Are there smear campaigns? Are you being sown with the seeds of doubt? etc. Try not to jump from one story to another. Reflects. Go deep within yourself.
Part 4: For many, this is the beginning of the end, and you get dumped or walk away. However, for others, this section may be the biggest part of their story. In this part, what led up to the game/draw and then the whole story of the game/draw? There could be a lot of vacuums in this part of your story. Explain the psychology of what was happening to you and the tactics for getting him back. Also, there's no shame in going back. You are an addict now, and addicts relapse. Tell us about custody, court, financial abuse, divorce, co-parenting, etc. Explain all the post-breakup abuse that took place. Tell us about the ups and downs at this stage in your history. Your profits and losses. Triumphs and despair.
Part 5: Tell us about the aftermath and your healing process. What have you learned about yourself? How did you change? Words of wisdom and advice.
If you haven't freaked out yet, send your bullet story (in this format) tonarcisistapocalypse@gmail.comor use the form below.
Gracias,
Brandon Chadwick