Part 3/13:
In such toxic relationships, victims often craft justifications for their partner’s behavior, creating counterfactual stories that distort reality to preserve their attachment. These narratives include:
"It’s all my fault" (Autoplastic Narrative): Blaming oneself for the partner’s treatment, believing that if only they behaved differently, they wouldn’t be punished or neglected.
"It’s temporary" or "It’s just a phase": Convincing oneself that the abusive or neglectful period will pass, thus waiting for change that may never come.
"That’s just how he is": Rationalizing cycles of love and abuse as inherent to the partner’s nature, accepting the emotional cost as worth the eventual affection.