She Stopped Asking
Carlin Carlin

She Stopped Asking

In the early years, she used to ask him if something was wrong. When he grew quiet, distant, or cold, she'd gently check in.

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How Trauma Changes the Need for Connection
Carlin Carlin

How Trauma Changes the Need for Connection

Trauma doesn’t just hurt—it rewires.

It reshapes how we connect, how we love, and how we let ourselves be loved.

After emotional abuse or long-term silent gaslighting, the need for connection can feel like a contradiction. We crave closeness, but fear it. We long for understanding, but hesitate to be seen. We miss being held, but recoil at vulnerability.

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The Aftermath of Healing (Nothing Left to Fix)
Carlin Carlin

The Aftermath of Healing (Nothing Left to Fix)

There comes a moment in healing when the chaos quiets.

You’re no longer fighting to be heard. You’re no longer gathering evidence, proving your pain, or trying to make someone understand who never really wanted to. The wounds have been tended. The storm has passed.

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When Love Is Withheld
Carlin Carlin

When Love Is Withheld

Getting to a place where you're asking "how did I get here?"—especially when you know your inner child wasn’t loved or acknowledged—is both painful and profound. It means you're waking up to truths that have long been buried or denied. And that kind of awakening often comes after years of trying to survive or make sense of things that never quite felt right.

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After all the unraveling that happens in the wake of silent gaslighting, turning toward growth and self-restoration is  powerful.
Carlin Carlin

After all the unraveling that happens in the wake of silent gaslighting, turning toward growth and self-restoration is powerful.

As You Think, So Shall You Be: Becoming a Better You

Coming out of a relationship marked by silent gaslighting is like waking up from a long, confusing dream. At first, the world feels unfamiliar. You question everything—your worth, your intuition, your voice. But slowly, with each brave breath and choice, clarity begins to bloom.

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Rebuilding Self-Trust After Emotional Abuse
Carlin Carlin

Rebuilding Self-Trust After Emotional Abuse

One of the hardest parts of healing from emotional abuse isn’t just leaving.
It’s learning how to trust yourself again after years of being told—directly or indirectly—that you can’t.

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Why It Was Never "Just Miscommunication"
Carlin Carlin

Why It Was Never "Just Miscommunication"

For years, I told myself that we just didn’t communicate well.
That maybe I was too emotional. Too sensitive. Too much.
I bent myself in every direction trying to be “clearer,” “calmer,” “easier to live with.”

But it wasn’t miscommunication.

It was manipulation.

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Is It Really Abuse If He Doesn’t Yell?
Carlin Carlin

Is It Really Abuse If He Doesn’t Yell?

This question haunted me for years.
“Is it really abuse if he’s not hitting me?”
“If he’s not yelling or threatening me, is it still abuse?”
“Am I overreacting?”

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What Is Silent Gaslighting? And Why It’s So Hard to Name
Carlin Carlin

What Is Silent Gaslighting? And Why It’s So Hard to Name

He never yelled—until the very end.
He didn’t hit me.
He didn’t even argue most of the time.
He just… said nothing.

No answers. No reactions. No acknowledgement of how I felt, what I needed, or who I was slowly becoming under the weight of all that silence.

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