Invisible Chains Month:  The Ties and Tethers that Keep us Stuck

Healing from Narcissistic Relationships

October 2026

Month Overview:

Have you ever tried to untangle a ball of yarn, a bunch of old rope, headphone wires and phone charging cables, necklaces in a jewelry box?  The trick is to figure out how to separate all the different stuff (which is hard if they are the same color for example), and find the end point, and then carefully untangle them (it is frustrating as hell). Another visual is the wires that keep a big radio tower up, or a suspension bridge. We recognize that this thing is only up and doesn’t fall because of these huge cables – it’s not just because this thing is planted in the ground, but because it is also being held to the ground or the base by these wires – or tethers. Tethers also keep things that can fly or float away like balloons and blimps and boat on the ground or in the harbor (the way we may feel perpetually grounded or stunted by being in these relationships). 

This month is about untangling these ties, chains, tethers that keep us stuck in narcissistic relationships -relationships we want to leave, relationships we can’t leave, relationships we are still navigating, and relationships we may get into down the road. This month can be a crucial tool to cut away at the trauma bond and understand in a non-shaming way what keeps us stuck, and to allow that to inform our decision making.