met my nex today and he was completely normal

Yes! I continually find myself feeling bad that my ex is in jail, despite numerous strangulation attempts he committed against me (and his own mother). He constantly tried to brainwash me into believing that I was the problem, so my brain keeps slipping back into habit of questioning myself, thinking maybe if I didn't let myself get so angry at him, we could have made things work and he wouldn't be in jail. Completely irrational thought process, I know. That misplaced guilt, self doubt, just creeps back and anytime that happens, I make sure I listen to one of the many recordings saved on my phone. They get my heart racing and take me right back to the moment, BUT they have been therapeutic to help remind me how terrible it was. I was often forced to listen to his HOURS long diatribes where I wasn't allowed to speak or else I was berated for interrupting him, and I can listen and immediately validate myself that I wasn't crazy, that he was horrible and knew what he was doing.

I recently listened to a recording I didn't realize I had, which revealed such a lovely insult I'd forgotten he said to me near the end:

"Your parents are nice people, and they kept you alive...but they did a poor job of raising you." (said the heaping pile of garbage)

/r/TrueNarcissisticAbuse Thread Parent