Psycho-Free Zone

Why did we move in with my Narcissistic Mother-In-Law? When my husband and I returned to our home state, several years ago, the plan was to stay with his parents while he settled into a new job position. We both worked with the company, and the owners wanted him to relocate. He was also to have a minor surgery (with a sufficient recovery period), and we were to search for an apartment. It was my narcissistic mother-in-law (NMIL) who extended the invitation for us to stay with them during this time. Upon our arrival, she designated one end of the house, with two spare rooms, for us to spread out in. ( She later rewrote history by stating that she never said any such thing, but I specifically remember her telling us this, because it made me feel that she was giving us room to breathe, and maybe this wouldn't be so unpleasant after all . ) For a brief period of time, she expressed concern over Tim's injury, even sharing her prescription pain meds and sleeping pills with him, and ...

  This is a question a reader submitted to me via a HubPages article I wrote: My step-daughter (13) is the second youngest of a blended family of eight. She lacks empathy and has high anxiety. She lies, manipulates, distracts to get what she wants and avoids any real responsibility. How does a step-parent navigate this situation? As I’ve stated elsewhere, I am not a licensed mental health professional; therefore, I do not feel comfortable giving personalized advice. However, I will share a few thoughts I had upon reading this question. First, have you expressed your concerns regarding your manipulative step-daughter to your spouse? If your answer is no, why not? Do you feel that your spouse will refuse to hear you out, or will listen to you but then invalidate your concerns? Then, there are larger issues to deal with, and I would urge you to explore why you don’t feel comfortable raising this issue with him/her. If you answered yes to the question above, does your spouse acknowled...