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What if the mental health diagnosis you've been carrying isn't actually the answer you thought it was? What if the symptoms you've been told to manage for life could actually be healed at the root?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Michelle Rittenburg, number one bestselling author of The Upside of Bipolar and founder of Upsiders Tribe, to explore the complex intersection of trauma and mental health symptoms.

Michelle shares her raw journey from a narcissistic abusive first marriage that left her with unprocessed trauma she carried for 30 years. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 24 and told she had a permanent chemical imbalance requiring lifelong medication, Michelle spent over a decade on seven different psychiatric drugs, experienced multiple hospitalizations, and survived suicide attempts. She was told recovery wasn't possible.

But Michelle refused to accept that narrative.

In this episode, we dive deep into uncomfortable territory:

The moment Michelle realized traditional treatment wasn't working and why the "chemical imbalance" theory she'd built her life around wasn't supported by science

How unprocessed trauma from narcissistic abuse manifested as severe mood swings, depression, and what looked like mental illness

Why psychiatric diagnoses describe symptoms but don't identify underlying causes, and how this keeps people trapped in victimhood

Michelle's intense six-week EMDR therapy experience processing 30 years of repressed trauma, including her "day of rage" that signaled breakthrough

The difference between managing symptoms and actually healing at the root

Why we must learn to sit with uncomfortable emotions instead of pathologizing or avoiding them

How choosing your hard, doing the work, and looking at symptoms with curiosity instead of judgment creates true freedom

The critical role of community and tribe in the healing journey

This conversation will challenge everything you've been told about mental health, permanent diagnoses, and what's actually possible when you're willing to do the uncomfortable work of healing.

If you've been labeled, diagnosed, or told you're broken beyond repair, this episode is for you. Whether you're dealing with the aftermath of narcissistic abuse, struggling with mental health symptoms, or both, Michelle's message is clear: healing is possible, and you don't have to be a victim to your symptoms for the rest of your life.

Ready to do your own recovery work? Visit ThePassageToPeace.com to explore my coaching programs, P.E.A.C.E. Pockets Survival Sessions, and one-on-one coaching.

LINKS To Find Michelle:

Website: www.theupsideofbipolar.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theupsideofbipolar

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theupsideofbipolar

Podcast: The Upside of Bipolar: Conversations on the Road to Wellness

Book: The Upside

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"Just move on. Just let it go. Just forget about it."

If breaking free from a narcissistic relationship were that simple, you'd already be done. But it's not, and there's a reason why.

In this live recording from The Healing Room, I break down the hard truth about trauma bonds and why willpower alone will never be enough to break them. This isn't about weakness - it's about understanding that you're dealing with a brain problem, not a character flaw.

I'm covering:

• Why your brain treats the relationship like an addiction (because it literally is)
• The neurological patterns keeping you stuck in the cycle
• Why New Year's resolutions are a trap when it comes to trauma bonds
• The three things you actually need: structure, community, and the right framework
• How to stop setting yourself up for failure and start creating real change

As someone who spent 30 years in a marriage to a narcissist and five years breaking my own trauma bond, I'm not just teaching this - I've lived it. And I'm here to walk through it with you.

Join me every Monday at 7 PM EST on TikTok and Instagram for Monday Night Live in The Healing Room, where we're breaking bonds and building better lives.

Free Workshop: Join me January 19th, 2026 for a 75-minute deep dive on breaking the trauma bond.

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We've been taught that endurance equals strength. That staying means we're strong enough to handle it. But what if the very strength that kept you surviving in a narcissistic relationship is the same strength that will set you free?

In this powerful episode, Marcia challenges everything you thought you knew about strength in toxic relationships. She reveals the critical difference between survival mode strength - the over-functioning, tolerance, and walking on eggshells we mistake for resilience - and true strength that chooses self-preservation over performance.

Drawing from her own 30-year marriage to an overt narcissist, Marcia exposes how we get validation for "handling" difficult partners, how we confuse tolerance with resilience, and why waiting to "feel strong enough" keeps us stuck for decades. She shares the truth about rock bottom, the terrifying moment when the veil of denial lifts and you finally see what you can no longer unsee.

This isn't about how to leave - it's about understanding that you already have the strength. You've been using it to survive. Now it's time to redirect that same power toward healing. Because the strength doesn't come before the doing. The strength comes IN the doing.

If you've been waiting to feel strong enough, this episode will show you why that's the very thing keeping you trapped - and how to take that first scary step forward without a backup plan.

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Marcia Williams, licensed therapist and narcissistic abuse recovery coach, drops another truth bomb in the Healing Room, a weekly live session on TikTok and Instagram where she pushes survivors beyond survival mode. In this episode, Marcia breaks down what survivors are actually addicted to in toxic relationships, and spoiler alert, it's not the person.

In this recovery session, we explore the real addictions: solving unsolvable puzzles, familiar pain, being the fixer, drama, and the rumination loops that keep your brain hostage at 3 AM. This is about moving from victim to victor by looking inward instead of staying focused on the narcissist's behavior.

Key Topics:

• Why your brain won't stop ruminating and how to interrupt the pattern
• The five things you're actually addicted to in a narcissistic relationship
• What you're really avoiding: your own healing, grief, and responsibility for staying
• The trauma bond chemistry and why just stop thinking about them doesn't work
• How peace becomes terrifying after years of chaos
• The mirror effect: how the narcissist shows you your own wounds
• Practical exercises to break the addiction through brutal self-honesty

This session is for survivors ready to go deeper than surface-level boundary work. If you're tired of focusing on what they did and ready to examine your own choices with compassion and truth, this episode will challenge you in the best possible way.

Resources mentioned: P2P Essentials seven-week program, Women's H.O.P.E. Coaching Group for those still in relationships, one-on-one coaching, and the 30-minute Peace Pocket survival toolkit at thepassagetopeace.com

Join Marcia live in The Healing Room every Monday Night on TikTok and Instagram.

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In this week’s episode of The Healing Room, Marcia takes you into one of the most challenging—and liberating—conversations of your healing journey. We’ve all heard the familiar narrative: the narcissist is the villain, and the empath is the victim. But what happens when you look beneath the labels? What happens when you hold up the mirror?

Marcia breaks down the uncomfortable truth that narcissists and empaths are not opposites at all—they’re two sides of the same wounded coin. One inflates to survive, the other deflates. One hides behind superiority, the other hides behind selflessness. Both are masking the same core fear: “If you see who I really am, you’ll leave.”

This episode walks you through:

• Why empaths are magnetically drawn to narcissists—and why narcissists seek them out
• How both roles develop from the same childhood wounds
• The ways empaths use caretaking, self-sacrifice, and “being needed” as a mask
• Why awareness—not blame—is the key to breaking the cycle
• The liberation that comes when you stop performing and start honoring your own boundaries
• How to reclaim your worth so you no longer attract relationships built on wounds

With raw honesty and deep compassion, Marcia shares her own story of staying in a 30–year narcissistic marriage, the role she played without realizing it, and the moment she understood the truth that set her free.

If you’re ready to step out of old patterns, stop performing for love, and finally see what’s been hiding beneath your own mask—this episode is the doorway.

And remember:
You are not the narcissist.
But to heal, you must understand the mirror.

Join Marcia live every Monday at 7 PM EST on TikTok and IG for more real talk, more breakthroughs, and more freedom on the other side of your truth.

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In this powerful episode, Marcia sits down with Dr. Tomi Mitchell — board-certified family physician, wellness and performance coach, TEDx speaker, and mental health advocate — for a raw, insightful conversation about healing from narcissistic abuse, burnout, and the patterns we inherit without even realizing it.

Dr. Tomi brings her lived experience, her medical expertise, and her holistic framework to help us understand why our bodies react the way they do, why we normalize pain, and why so many survivors stay in harmful relationships far longer than they intended. Together, Marcia and Dr. Tomi pull back the curtain on the three critical relationships that shape our entire lives:

1. The relationship we have with ourselves
2. The relationships we have with our closest people
3. The relationship we have with work and society

When those “three legs of the stool” weaken, everything in our lives starts to wobble — our health, our peace, our identity, and our ability to function. Dr. Tomi explains how this imbalance often mimics ADHD, anxiety, depression, or burnout, and why so many survivors are misdiagnosed when the real issue is untreated trauma.

You’ll hear both women share their own experiences with narcissistic abuse, identity loss, chronic stress, and the long road back to clarity. Dr. Tomi offers a compassionate but direct roadmap for reconnecting with yourself, rewriting your vision, and rebuilding your nervous system after years of survival mode.

This episode is a must-listen if you’ve ever:
• Felt confused, foggy, or overwhelmed and didn’t know why
• Stayed in a relationship that hurt you because the unknown felt scarier
• Lost your identity to people-pleasing or perfectionism
• Experienced chronic headaches, burnout, or body symptoms you couldn’t explain
• Wondered if your ADHD symptoms were actually trauma responses
• Tried to heal yourself while still living in a toxic environment

Dr. Tomi reminds us that healing is possible — but it begins with truth, vision, and the courage to face ourselves. And as Marcia shares, once we do that work, we don’t just survive… we rise, and then we go out and help others rise too.

This conversation will leave you seen, understood, and empowered.

If you want to learn more from Dr. Tomi or follow her work, you can find her here:

The Mental Health & Wellness Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1754964

Holistic Wellness Strategies: https://www.holisticwellnessstrategies.com/about

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMitchellHWS

IG: https://www.instagram.com/drtomimitchell/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtomimitchell/

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In this powerful conclusion to The Transformation Trilogy, Marcia Williams — licensed therapist, survivor, and creator of the P.E.A.C.E. Method™ — takes you beyond awareness and survival into the sacred process of transformation.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve done “all the healing work” but still find yourself reacting to triggers, replaying old wounds, or struggling to feel peace that lasts, this episode will change how you see recovery forever.

Marcia breaks down her signature 5-stage healing framework, The P.E.A.C.E. Method™, designed to help survivors of narcissistic abuse move from confusion to clarity, from reactivity to regulation, and from surviving to thriving. Drawing from her own 30-year marriage to a narcissist and two decades of clinical experience, she reveals the step-by-step process that allows survivors to stop chasing closure and start creating peace from the inside out.

You’ll learn how each stage — Paradigm Shift, Establishing Safety, Alchemy of Wounds, Courageous Reclamation, and Empowered Freedom — works together to restore identity, rebuild trust, and help you finally reclaim your life on your own terms.

This episode is equal parts education and empowerment — grounded in truth, soaked in hope, and wrapped in Marcia’s signature mix of humor, heart, and raw honesty.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The exact 5 stages of healing called The P.E.A.C.E. Method™ and how to recognize where you are in the process.
• Why most survivors get stuck in survival mode — and how to move forward without guilt or fear.
• The science of safety and why structure is essential for emotional freedom.
• How to transform pain into power through emotional alchemy and self-compassion.
• Practical journaling prompts to help you begin reclaiming your peace today.

Reflection Prompts:

1. Which stage of the P.E.A.C.E. Method™ am I in right now? (Go to thepassagetopeace.com and take a free quiz!)
2. What does emotional safety feel like for me today?
3. What truth am I finally ready to face and release?
4. What decision can I make today that honors the person I’m becoming?

Call to Action:
Journal through today’s prompts, share your reflections with Marcia on social media, and join the next cohort of P2P Essentials to walk the P.E.A.C.E. Method™ step-by-step with a community that gets it.

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In this powerful and deeply moving episode of The Healing Lounge, Marcia sits down with a man who bravely shares his story of surviving a narcissistic marriage — and finding peace on the other side.

For his family’s privacy, he remains anonymous. But his voice carries the wisdom, faith, and insight of a man who has walked through emotional and spiritual warfare and come out grounded, healed, and free.

He opens up about the childhood wounds that shaped his self-worth, the painful awakening that revealed the truth about his marriage, and the stillness that God required before restoration began. Through radical accountability, grace, and spiritual growth, he learned to co-parent peacefully and rebuild his identity as a father, man, and believer.

This is not just a story about survival — it’s a story about transformation. About choosing healing over bitterness, surrender over control, and peace over pride.

Whether you’re in the process of leaving a narcissistic relationship or rebuilding your life afterward, this episode will give you hope that freedom and forgiveness are possible — no matter how deep the pain runs.

You’ll Learn:

• The hidden signs of emotional manipulation and control
• Why shame keeps men from speaking out about abuse
• How faith and stillness can become a healing ground
• The mindset shift that makes peaceful co-parenting possible
• What true accountability and grace look like in recovery

Resources & Support

You don’t have to heal alone.
Join our survivor communities today:

• Women’s H.O.P.E. Group — Healing, Overcoming, Persevering, Empowering
• UnM.A.S.K. Men’s Group — Men Awakening, Surviving, and Knowing

Visit www.thepassagetopeace.com
and click Groups & Programs to learn more.

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