Watch out for the flying monkeys…
If you have ever watched the classic film, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ then you will be familiar with the evil flying monkeys, the henchman of the Wicked Witch of the West. They are often dispatched by the villain to harrass and thwart Dorothy and her friends as she attempts to find her way home to Kansas.
What is perhaps less well known is that the term, ‘flying monkeys’ has also been adopted in popular psychology to refer to people who act on behalf of an emotional or narcissistic abuser. People can be drawn into these roles for a number of reasons, be it through harmful, co-dependent relationships (based on a need to seek approval and ‘people please’) or because they are anxiety sufferers who gain comfort from the ‘support’ of someone more confident and assured than themselves. Addicts make ideal ‘flying monkeys’, especially when the narcissist is the one who is facilitating their addiction.
Narcissistic abuse and/or coercive relationships are sadly more common than we might think. Thankfully, there is a growing wealth of information and advice out there to help people.
The victims of narcissistic abuse can be left with significant trauma, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder. In many ways, ‘flying monkeys’, recruited into abusive behaviour, can also be affected as much as the victim that they are targetting by proxy.
Hypnotherapy can be a very powerful technique to explore and help resolve the issues that trauma through abuse can bring. For example:
- Tackling low self esteem and boosting confidence,
- Reducing anxiety and panic
- Reprogramming and reducing the emotional impact of past events.
- Addressing symptoms like anger and insomnia
- Teaching relaxation and self-hypnosis for long term maintenance.
So, if you are a victim of narcissistic abuse then help is available and maybe you can look out for those ‘flying monkeys’ in your life. Likewise, for them, there is a way out of these controlling relationships.
No-one should suffer in silence.
References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/toxic-relationships/201806/how-handle-narcissistic-abuse
