Unseen Scars Workbook by Stephanie Roese

A Self-Help Guide to Heal From Emotional Neglect, Gaslighting and Narcissistic Abuse – Black and White Budget Edition

The aim of this workbook is to transform pain into empowerment by helping survivors of narcissistic abuse and emotional neglect uncover what happened to them, rebuild their boundaries, and rediscover the self they thought was lost

It’s time to stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” The confusion, self-doubt, and emotional pain you carry are not signs of a personal failing; they are the invisible wounds left by someone who systematically erased your reality. You are not crazy—you were abused. This workbook begins with the foundational truth that the pain you feel was never your fault, offering validation to a story that was twisted, silenced, and denied for far too long.

Unseen Scars is your comprehensive, 238-page guide to reclaiming the life that was taken from you. Through a series of guided exercises, reflections, and trauma-informed tools, you will learn to dismantle the abuser's playbook by recognizing the insidious manipulation tactics that once left you feeling powerless. This is your roadmap to rebuilding firm boundaries that protect your peace, grieving the profound losses on your own terms, and shattering the toxic patterns that kept you trapped, allowing you to move beyond mere survival and into a future defined by freedom and self-trust.

Written by a survivor, this workbook blends the profound empathy of lived experience with the groundbreaking insights of leading trauma experts like Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and Dr. Ramani Durvasula. This isn't about giving your abuser closure; it's about claiming absolute freedom for yourself. You were not broken, you were betrayed. Now, it is your turn to escape the narrative you were handed, reinvent your identity with intention, and triumphantly reclaim the life that has always been rightfully yours.

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Excerpt from Unseen Scars Workbook © Copyright 2025 Stephanie Roese

Introduction: You Are Not Broken — You Were Betrayed

If you’ve ever walked away from a relationship—romantic, familial, or otherwise—feeling hurt, broken, ashamed, confused, hollow, or like a shadow of yourself… this workbook is for you.

Emotional abuse is often invisible. There are no bruises. No police report. Just fog. Just a lingering ache that says, “Something wasn’t right.”

This workbook is here to help you name that ache, understand it, and begin the work of healing it—on your terms, at your pace.

Understanding the Invisible Wounds of Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse and neglect don’t always leave evidence. But they leave deep impressions on how you see yourself, how you love, and how you trust.

Maybe you were constantly criticized, manipulated, or gaslit. Maybe your emotions were ignored, dismissed, or punished. Maybe you spent years trying to be “enough” for someone who only ever gave you scraps.

These are not personality flaws. They are wounds—and wounds can heal when they are seen and held with compassion.

Who This Workbook Is For (and How to Use It)

I’ve written this guide and workbook for those who’ve experienced the soul-eroding effects of emotional neglect, gaslighting, narcissistic abuse, or toxic relationships—whether from a partner, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or someone at work.

This workbook is especially designed for women who find themselves reexamining their truth, doubting their worth, or feeling utterly alone after chronic exposure to invalidation and control.
If you’ve ever:

• Questioned if what you experienced was abuse—and struggled to name it
• Carried invisible scars from childhood that still affect your adult life
• Found yourself in repeated patterns of codependency, people-pleasing, or self-abandonment
• Needed tools to rebuild your self-worth and boundaries
• Wanted to protect your children or loved ones from continuing the cycle

—then this workbook is for you.
Wherever you are on your journey, these pages will meet you with empathy, structure, and practical exercises to help you process your story, reclaim your voice, and rebuild your life.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need the willingness to begin.

Chapter 1: The Language of Emotional Abuse — Naming What Was Never Acknowledged

“Abuse doesn’t always show up as violence. Sometimes, it sounds like silence, sounds like ‘you’re too sensitive,’ and feels like confusion.”

Welcome. If no one else has said this to you yet—I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.

You didn’t imagine it. You weren’t “too sensitive,” and you’re not damaged. You were emotionally wounded by people who didn’t—or couldn’t—give you the love, safety, or respect you deserved.

Emotional abuse often hides in plain sight. It leaves no bruises, but it changes everything: how you see yourself, how you trust, and how you love. The wounds are invisible to others—but deeply felt by you.

In this chapter, we’ll begin naming what happened. Not to relive it, but to reclaim your power. Because when you can name it, you can validate it. And when you validate it, you can start to heal.