10/04/2026
Hi, it's Juliana!
I'd like you to imagine you're camping in the forest, and your fire has died.
How would you get it going again?
Would you add some wood and just leave it?
Or would you blow on the embers?
You'd probably blow on the embers, right?
Because fire needs oxygen to keep burning.
So when you blow on the embers, you're giving it more oxygen.
And that's basically what you're seeing here.
Think of feeling good about themselves as the fire.
And your reactions as the oxygen.
To feel good about themselves, they need to get a reaction out of you.
So they'll often say or do something provocative, then they'll soak in your reaction.
On the surface this could look like them:
Laughing at you.
Mocking you.
Calling you names.
Suddenly becoming calm.
Or even getting upset with you for reacting.
But underneath, it's always the same.
Your reaction is being used to keep the positive feelings they have about themselves “burning,” the same way blowing on the embers of a fire keeps it burning.
If you need someone to talk to about all of this, you can always send me a DM or schedule a session with me.
My team and I help people heal from narcissistic abuse, and many of us have experienced it ourselves, so we're here if you need us.
To your healing,
Juliana ❤️🩹