Adult Child When Breaking Your Silence Means Losing Your Family: Narcissistic Abuse, Gaslighting & Fawning w/ Dr. Ingrid Clayton
Sep 3, 2025
Dr. Ingrid Clayton, a clinical psychologist and trauma therapist, shares her powerful journey from survival to self-reclamation after facing childhood narcissistic abuse and gaslighting. She discusses the painful betrayal of silence when speaking your truth leads to estrangement. Ingrid uncovers the fawn response—people-pleasing as a survival strategy—and emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries for self-protection. Her insights on somatic healing and writing as a form of therapy provide hope for those healing from complex trauma.
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Owning Trauma Unlocks Healing
- If we don't own our stories as traumatic, we cannot use trauma-healing tools effectively.
- Minimizing childhood wounds blocks access to meaningful recovery and validation.
Addiction As A Trauma Response
- Addiction is often an extension of trauma rather than merely a moral failing.
- Viewing substance use through trauma reduces shame and reframes treatment needs.
Fawning Is A Trauma Survival Strategy
- Fawning is a trauma response privileging safety and connection over truth and needs.
- Reframing codependency as fawning reduces shame and locates behavior in survival strategy.
