Social influence is said to be employed by an agent or practitioner upon a target. The agent’s message is called advocacy — with advocacy by definition requiring both familiarities as well as compassion.
The Advocate typically advocates on behalf of themselves (in the case of self-advocacy) or on behalf of another party.
Two examples of advocates are Domestic Violence Advocates — who advocate for social justice and to protect the rights of victims (such as in the case of a Guardian Ad Litem) or Lobbyists who advocate for causes with regard to policy issues affecting citizenry and government.
Narcissistic Abuse advocates are often times abuse survivors themselves. However, any person who is a Sympath, horizontal thinker, or Empath is likely to advocate for humanitarian causes throughout their lifetime — not because they are weak-willed, overly sensitive, or too emotional.
People with high IQ coupled with higher EQ tend to spend a great deal of time in contemplation, self-reflecting. Those who witness or suffer abuse tend to strive to prevent other human beings from ever having to needlessly suffer.
Expect Abuse Recovery Advocates to have a high degree of emotional sensitivity –but to be exceptionally practical and judicious about the wisdom they provide.
Typically, those who become healers and mentors have already been through an extensive private experience that tends to give them a reflective rather than a reactionary perspective on life.
As such, if an Advocate provides you with advice that appears to be blunt or to the point, resist the urge to take it personally or to react emotionally needlessly.
If for instance, a person who strives to successfully mentor not only suggests you go no contact with an abuser but has a well-constructed plan about how to endure the estrangement as well as health tips to recover, chances are they have already been there.
Resist the urge to attack Advocates for simply sharing sage advice — especially when and if they are ready to help the willing.
For instance, Guardian Ad Litems assigned by the court tend to report clients who are angry with them for letting them know exactly what the judge is and is not looking for related to custody issues.
Think it through before you chose to personalize their advice in such a way that you project they are attacking rather than advocating for the child simply because they say something that might — due to toxic thinking and unfamiliarity with legal proceedings related to child custody issues — sound, while you are in the thick of an emotional entanglement that is toxic, something akin to counterintuitive to you.
In many instances, Advocates are people who strive to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.
Consider them whistleblowers who expose social injustices, toxic thinking patterns, and situational abuse secrets — only instead of sharing information they know, they often times simply show up to help when and if other human beings are struggling or in need of humanitarian aid.
An Advocate’s true calling is to provide those in need with complex levels of social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual support. The trick is to be able to self-actualize as a healer or a helper without developing Stockholm Syndrome and becoming a People Pleaser.
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