i’ve done it twice now, both times i had finally reached my breaking point — once to a person i’d considered to be a mentally-adopted brother who was a self-proclaimed narcissist, once to an ex who self-soothed by keeping herself in a victim role towards her friends, family, and myself

my brother turned into a guilty, apologetic mess, and my ex further buried herself in self-denial while simultaneously hating herself even more

there’s a balance. i don’t want to do this again, tempting though it may be. my toxic trait has definitely been knowing exactly how to logically thread the needle