Listener case: manipulative mother and isolation

Your mentally ill mom impersonated you, lied about your dad, and then vanished. Now you're alone and your sister's cut you off. Welcome to Feedback Friday!

And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1259

On This Week's Feedback Friday:

• You were raised by a manipulative mother with serious mental health issues who impersonated you to your friends and lied about your absent father. Now at 29, you're isolated, your sister won't speak to you, and mom has vanished. Can you rebuild trust — and yourself — after so much damage?
• Your partner is loving, attentive, and supportive, but he's hiding alcohol and nicotine habits, and his lies trigger your past trauma from being cheated on. Add in a cancer-stricken cat, job loss, and 600+ rejected applications, and you're in survival mode. Where do you even begin to untangle this?
• You and your mom swapped social media feeds and discovered just how different your political echo chambers are — and how engineered that division really is. Now you want to burst your filter bubble and find balanced news sources. But in today's algorithm-driven media landscape, is that even possible? [Thanks to internet pioneer and social media critic Jaron Lanier for helping us with this one!]
• Recommendation of the Week: A passport holder with an AirTag attached (plus a sub-rec: personalized passport books as a holiday gift).
• You're pivoting from an oversaturated, unfulfilling career into cybersecurity. You've earned the certifications, but breaking in feels impossible. Your partner, your future family plans, and a potential move to Melbourne all hinge on this career switch. How long do you keep trying before calling it quits?
• Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.
• Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.

And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!

• Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
• Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
• Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!

This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:

• BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordan
• Aura Frames: $35 off: auraframes.com, code JORDAN
• DeleteMe: 20% off: joindeleteme.com/jordan, code JORDAN
• SimpliSafe: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordan
• Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.