Among the many painful ways in which narcissistic abusers continue to cause distress to their ex-partners, ex-friends, ex-employees or children is the smear campaign.

Narcissists will shame us as an act of overt cruelty, gaining gratification from the sense of personal power that gives them.

Training in Mindful Self Compassion gives us powerful new tools - short daily mindfulness practices – that can change the mental habits of a life time with persistence and repetition. We can heal our shame.

What are we up against when we decide to embark on a journey to heal our shame with self-compassion?

In a word: DOUBT.

(One of the Five Hindrances in Buddhist Psychology. The others are aversion, attachment, restlessness and sloth)

Not unlike the Temple of the Many-Faced God in Game of Thrones, shame comes in many guises.

Shame derives from the basic human drive for safe and secure connections with others – a human survival instinct. We are social animals.

One of the most painful lessons from narcissistic abuse is the shock of discovering that the person in whom we invested the very best of our nature (love, kindness, generosity, loyalty) actually had a narcissistic hidden agenda.

The Split from a narcissistic partner can create so much chaos as to be overwhelming for some people.

Survivors often must grapple with serious survival threats, as well as deep moral injury.

Written over the entrance to the Ancient Temple at Delphi were words which could easily form the basis of modern trauma-recovery therapeutic interventions. Know Thyself. They are an exhortation to look first within our own character in order to understand our world.

Triggers can be directly addressed when our nervous system is in a relaxed and safe enough environment to do so. The traditional Tibetan practice of Chod is the perfect visualisation method for us to take the sting out of things we fear.