Destructive Messages from Toxic People:
Circle the ones that were given to you by the covert narcissistic person in your life.
I am…
Not good enough
Overly dramatic
Overly reactive
Too sensitive
Take things too personally
Can’t take a joke
Too emotional
Angry all the time
Never happy
Demanding
Not worthy of love,
Unlovable, unlikable
Want perfection
Have to have things my way
Have trust issues
Control freak
Can’t do anything right
Distant
A quitter
Not worthy of them
Too hard to please, too much work
Not supportive enough
Ungrateful
Never appreciative
Not desirable
Manipulative, dishonest, narcissistic, toxic
Mean, unloving, unforgiving, negative
Jealous
Ugly, fat, a slob, lazy
Don’t know how to love
Don’t know how to listen
My accomplishments are not worth celebrating.
No one else would ever want me
My needs, wants and feelings are selfish
Unable to make friends
Unable to get a job
Ignorant, can’t do anything right
Slow to forgive, hanging onto things
Vain, selfish
Unable to communicate, repetitive
Think I’m perfect
Just want the spotlight, attention-seeking, self-serving
Addicted to drama, seeking conflict
Incapable, incompetent, a screw up
Not able to do anything without them,
Imagining things
Can’t remember anything right
Out of touch with reality
Add any additional messages here:
Messages from your childhood:
Go back through that same list. In a different color, circle the messages that you received from your caregivers or other significant people in your life.
Are there correlations between the messages from your past and messages you are receiving in your present?
Messages You Tell Yourself:
Go back through the list one more time. In a different color, circle the ones that you tell yourself or ones that you are afraid might be true. Be honest with yourself, and not judgmental. Give yourself permission to be completely safe within. This safety is crucial to your own healing.
Are there any correlations between the messages from your past and present and those that you are battling within yourself?
Breaking the Cycle:
Messages from your past became messages of your present and can easily continue as messages of your future. It is time to break this cycle. Use the space below to re-write these messages.
- If your message is “I'm too sensitive,” re-write that to:
I AM sensitive, and it is a strength within me. My sensitivity allows me to be compassionate and caring for others. I'm not afraid of it, and I'm not ashamed of it.
- If your message is “I'm too angry,” re-write that to:
I experience anger when things are not right in this world. My anger shows me injustices that are happening. My anger allowed me to see the abuse that I was experiencing. My anger motivates me to make changes. It is a useful emotion that I give permission to talk with me.
- If your message is “I'm not supportive enough of them,” re-write that to:
I have supported them in many ways. It is not my job to provide the complete support to them that they cannot provide to themselves. It is not possible to fill that hole within someone who cannot emotionally and psychologically support themselves.
Re-write your destructive messages into positive ones.