New Your Traitor Within Episode + Exclusive 15% Off I Love You My Narcissist
by Jessica Anne Pressler, LCSW
This week on Your Traitor Within, I sat down with filmmaker Ali Schmahl and actress/producer Stefanie Schmahl to discuss their psychological drama I Love You My Narcissist — a film exploring narcissistic relationships, trauma bonding, manipulation, emotional confusion, and the long psychological aftermath of narcissistic abuse.
The film follows two survivors navigating deeply manipulative relationships while also weaving in expert insight about narcissistic dynamics, red flags, emotional conditioning, and recovery. What makes this project so compelling is that it doesn’t just explain narcissistic abuse intellectually — it immerses you in the emotional experience of it. And as many of you know, I believe storytelling is often one of the most powerful ways people begin recognizing patterns in themselves.
One of the things we discuss in the episode is how narcissistic abuse often hides in plain sight because it doesn’t always look dramatic or obvious from the outside. Sometimes it looks like confusion. Cognitive dissonance. Constantly questioning your own perception while trying to hold together two opposing realities at once:
“This relationship is hurting me.”
“This person says they love me.”
That confusion is not accidental. It’s part of the manipulation.
We also discuss narcissistic family systems, trauma bonding, self-abandonment, and how the Traitor Within develops as a survival response that later keeps people trapped in painful relational cycles.
Ali and Stefanie created this film to bring these dynamics “out of the darkness” and help people better understand the emotional and psychological reality of narcissistic abuse through cinematic storytelling.
You can stream I Love You My Narcissist using my exclusive 15% off link here:
https://stream.alefcinestream.com/buy/i-love-you-my-narcissist?code=jessicap1
Follow the film on Instagram:
@ilymn.film
And listen to the full episode of Your Traitor Within here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-traitor-within/id1797804404
Thank you for continuing to be part of this community.
— Jessica
