I am finally grasping where my attraction to unhealthy people has come from. My parents. My dad: I've always known was a bad apple. But I have just come to understand how incredibly unhealthy my mother is, and I've had a long, long history of being around her. Minimizing or 'not seeing' her behaviors.

Waking up so late in life is pretty crappy, but it's better than never waking up at all.

I like the Red Flag idea and will use it in the future. I too have begun a similar approach but it hadn't gelled into something as tangible yet.

These user/abuser types are very crafty and have honed their survival mechanisms into a fine art. But I am learning more and more about them every day which will only serve to protect me.

I hope that all of you on this thread will be able to root them out of your life or at least minimalize their impact. They have a way of devistating you for their own satisfaction, how evil can anyone get?

HourHand