Recovering From Narcissistic Abuse Without Validation
One of the tragedies of narcissistic abuse is that victims never get the validation so desperately wanted from their abuser(s), to help them recover from narcissistic abuse.
When a Healthy Person Hurts Someone
When healthy-minded people hurt someone, whether deliberate or not, or whether they agree with an alternate account of what happened or not, it is their validation of the other person’s perspective that allows the other person to recover. And it is that validation that allows the relationship to repair.
When a Narcissist Abuses Others
That never happens with narcissistic abuse. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), by nature, blinds the abusers to their responsibility for the devastation they cause. When confronted with the casualties of their behavior, they always believe that they are the ones being victimized.
Victims of NPD abuse are met with rejection, judgment, dismissal and disproportionate rage at any mention of wrongdoing by the perpetrator. NPD abusers infamously tell their victims to “stop living in the past” or to “get over it already,” even though they remember everything their victims ever did or said and will use these things to hurt them over and over again.
It is very difficult for any of us, abused or otherwise, to move forward from any type of assault or tragedy when our feelings and emotions are so adamantly discounted. It is especially trying for NPD abuse victims who have suffered constant devaluation and “gas lighting” (invalidation) of their perception of reality.
How to Recover from Narcissistic Abuse without Validation
Healing and moving on from pathological narcissistic abuse requires immense inner strength, the very strength that narcissists systematically try to strip from their victims. Survivors must rebuild what they’ve lost, or create what was never created in the first place. That is not an easy feat, but it is an attainable goal; something that must be done for personal sanity and peace of mind.
It doesn’t seem fair. Survivors must do all the work; they need extensive counseling, must stay dignified under the pressure of unfair judgment, must take actions that feel contrary to their natural behavior or inclinations, and must accept the reality that they will never make sense out of the irrational behavior exhibited by their narcissistic abuser.
Survivors have the right to live their lives unencumbered by the abuse of their past. They have the right to live happy lives, despite the malevolent intent of narcissistic abusers that wish them otherwise. And they have the right to do whatever is needed to protect themselves from abusive relationships. Saying “yes” to happiness means saying “no” to toxic relationships.
If you are suffering from narcissistic personality disorder abuse, do not waste another day in pain and feeling powerless. Seek professional help with someone who has lived and fully understands this confusing disorder. Decide to take your power back today.
This article was written by:
Randi Fine is a narcissistic personality disorder abuse expert, radio show host of A Fine Time for Healing, author, and life issues counselor practicing by telephone worldwide. She resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Find Randi on Facebook and on her website.
To be a guest author on the Your Mental Health Blog, go here.
APA Reference
Author, G.
(2015, October 15). Recovering From Narcissistic Abuse Without Validation, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, December 18 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/yourmentalhealth/2015/10/recovering-from-narcissistic-abuse-without-validation
Author: Guest Author
This is a wonderful article. Unfortunately as empaths we have to understand there is no closure when dealing with narcissistic abuse. This is what we seek and we seek some sort of explanation and justification of what was done to us but it doesn't exist when dealing with narcissists. We have to close the door, walk away, and be grateful every minute for our freedom. Being free of abuse is our gift.
The phrase that keeps circling my brain is “I can’t believe this happened to me.”
I thought I had strong boundaries, a keen sense of self, and a promising life. But my mystical thinking, my belief that this person was potentially “my person”, led to a complete breakdown of my well-being. I never lost my identity, per se, being incredibly strong-willed and practiced in self-centering, but I did begin to doubt my worth, values, and sanity as well as doubt other people and relationships in my life. Being in a relationship with a narcissist caused me to behave in ways I never imagined I could (breaking objects because I was just so angry I couldn’t contain it), to feel things I never thought I would (severely depressed and suicidal). I am still spinning, trying to make sense of it all.
I also feel the shame of being a man in this relationship, often feeling like no one will really believe me or will think that I couldn’t possibly be abused because men have more systemic power. She also told me she was diagnosed with high-functioning autism and used that diagnoses to explain her behavior. Was that a lie? Or a misdiagnosis? Whatever the case I ended up becoming so disoriented from the gaslighting that she suggested I might be bi-polar, and actually I was convinced for a little bit until I went to therapy and he was like, ummm no I think not.
It’s so so so sooooo hard to swallow that they manipulated me and hurt me intentionally. It almost seemed like a compulsion for them. Like they knew they were hurting me (sometimes) but didn’t mean to but couldn’t stop.
Does anyone else have experience with the Vulnerable Narcissist as opposed to the Malignant version? This is what I think I was dealing with and I just cannot wrap my head around it. It was so subtle and insidious and yet I was protective of them and dismissed anyone’s concern who expressed that it might be a toxic relationship because they were struggling with mental illness and I wanted to make sure they knew I loved and supported them unconditionally. Why would they take advantage of that and tear me down over and over...The confusion is unbearable.
I'm with you, brother. My ex took off in February. She spent 2 months convincing me we would reconcile. We went to counseling and we would talk on the phone for hours. But then she would disappear for days. Finally in May, a week after the most recent "let's tart with a clean slate" and "I miss you" she tells me she doesn't love me anymore, yells incoherently at me and hangs up. She then disappeared for lost of May and again in June.
I completely understand the head spinning mind f**k. She swept me off my feet 7 years ago. I thought we had a connection that was deeper than anything I've ever known. She walked away like it was nothing to her.
I just came across this site today. I also saw that your post is fairly recent. This is something I am going through also and have been almost nonstop for the last 2 years. I don’t know who to turn to but I am at a breaking point and don’t know who to turn to with help to make it through this somehow and someday.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. It’s mind blowing, traumatic, you need feel whole or safe after. You loved a lie who used you in the deepest ways you can use a person and lied about who they were from the beginning. Your Angel, that sweet vulnerable big hearted girl doesn’t really exist.. never did.. she had another phone and emails, the best parts of your honey moon phase she was still deciding between you and the guys she has in waiting.. she probably had sex with one or two of them after using you like practice.. you were always disposable to her, no one really matters even those golden people she takes turns worshiping and hating.. chances are there’s a lot more friend and stories you never heard… stories about other people they shame are sometimes thing they did… I feel so dirty and gross 🤮 I never imaged feeling so violated by a woman’, especially not the one I thought was the most genuine caring person I’d ever met. I still feel like giving up too often, it still feels like a bad dream I can’t wake up from. I wish it was. I guess we get to learn women like this exist and to avoid them? But who cares… I’ve had longer relationships, been engaged and had to call it off last minute.. but nothing has ever been as damaging as falling in love with the sweet quirky neighbor girl who made cutsie gifts and got me to open up about all my inner pain as we worked on hers… adjusted to her needs… for us… it’s all just what they want to do when they want it and justifying it later… I still feel so used and stupid but again no one expects that from anyone!! Not their partner they spent every minute with who said they’d worth through anything always, god it still hurts so much bro think about. Trying to be helpful but i think eventually you just move in because what other choice do you have?? Just be miserable forever,, it will hurt forever.. you were manipulated and utterly betrayed.. it hurts on the best and worst days.. it reduces me to tears, makes me not able to live a life I can be proud of or feel like I’ll ever be normal again.. I cry sometime when I do feel a little like my old self because I see who I am now and how far away I am from being the man I was and want to be… anyway I need to stop but you can get through it, I won’t say you’ll be better or stinger or things happen for a reason … sometimes the reason you a narcissist attached themselves to you and tried to steal a part of you while using you as an emotional dumping ground.
These sick manipulative users don’t win in the long run. I understand that’s little consolation when once destroys your life and sense of self, I’m sorry… no one deserves to be dehumanized and abandoned after years of promises to that hurt part of yourself you exposed only to them. These are mentally I’ll people, i don’t expect any sympathy from their victims, nothing makes that pain any easier, please just know it’s not not your fault for loving a broken a person. Happy Holidays, truly wishing you the best, to have the sweetest dream and wake up with a sense of wholeness within yourself even if you still feel so broken ❤️♾
You feel like you’re going crazy… like the floor is dropping out from under your feet… it took me close to a year to really even accept it all and be able to think straight. I was a wreck, in utter disbelief… I never believed in a person that way before, never imagined they’d be gone and the most meaningful relationship of my life was just me being manipulated, used like a practice dummy, a stepping stone to someone who lied to me from before we ever hung out… I still feel that confusion creep in, but now it’s mainly just pain. It’s still so sharp I feel like I can’t breathe sometimes but overall I know I’m improving. Some days I feel like I’d like to meet someone new and maybe I could be excited for it. The whole getting to know you excitement, falling in love, but then I usually end up crying myself to sleep. My ghost, my user, was the one after all others who the universe, fate, had led me to… I used to get very upset imagining all the what ifs that could have happened, all the things that needed to happen just right for us to finally have the love we both deserved from a person we knew we’d get through anything with together… 😥 I care barely function, I tried to work through it all and needed to be hospitalized when the bombs really started dropping. I never had panic attacks before this, I was having them so bad I fell over and hurt myself the day I was ordered to leave so they didn’t have to look at me. I was abandoned and lied to, manipulated in every way, violated in every way and I was still defending it to my family and friends, still believed my love would snap back to the person I knew and the nightmare would end. It never did… it gets easier to live with but some things will always hurt… maybe they need to for us to learn, but I didn’t need this lesson.. not from an overprivileged, self entitled professional victim, who uses people like toys and tries to dump their trauma on. They do everything they claim they were the victims of to the people who get closest… at least in my case.. then you get hit with another surprise when you think, wait all those little things that didn’t add up…
Do yourself a favor and don’t go digging, the things I’ve found out…. The old pictures and such j never bothered to look too closely at… the other phone lines, profiles, people you never knew who apparently live a few minutes away for years,, fronds you never heard of they talk about like best fiends… all the lies the hypocrisy… things they picked fights you ended up apologizing for and they lied and accused you!!! It should be illegal to torture a person emotionally so severely… it’s sick and no matter how much I want to move on and feel ready I still feel trapped by it, afraid of it.. it’s like they transferred their self when we met into me!! I couldn’t feed myself! They had a severe eating disorder, Always talked about panic attacks and how they felt and that’s what they did, every step of the way made me feel safe then dropped the floor out,, it’s bizarre.. like you lived with a stranger who hated you … where did the live who framed all the promises they made go?? Oh you broke them one by one and used toy reaction to months of severe emotional abuse to call me crazy and validate it all!!! I hate that they know exactly what they did and plan how to use you, how to leave you and torture you so I matter what they can justify it to their fiends and family or themselves.. I wish I never knew, I’d rather be ignorant of so many things, it makes me physically sick sometimes when I think of the happiest memories of our honeymoon phase… I was chosen to be a broken persons training spouse and then punished, setup, even took videos of us being intimate the night before leaving home… I feel like I’m never clean, like hands are Always on me and they’re still trying to punish me… still drive past, I’ve caught it in camera parked where I can’t see doing god knows what… why?!? Are you that sick?? Everything you accused me, everything you accuse your parents and sister of doing and being, it’s you!!! It’s always been you, you used my life, stole my strength and took a piece of me that I earned, and needed… you’ll never read this but you won’t win.. I can’t heal and love and grow one day.. I know you want to drive me to take my own life and that was the goal of you couldn’t play the victim card, I won’t give you the satisfaction.. you don’t know how to feel or love, and I feel sorry for you… even you don’t deserve to feel so bad inside, I don’t wish you harm.. I wish I could honestly you deserve it, but adding more hate and hurt to the world won’t help me heal.. seeing you in pain wouldn’t help me heal. You don’t have real emotions anyway.. I’d just give anything to feel like my old self just for a little bit so I can remember what life was like before you reached into the deepest most vulnerable parts of me and promised to always guard them as I did with you.. I don’t know how to finish this now I can’t stop crying, my face hurts all the time now.. it’s changed so much, people have told me they assumed I lost loved ones and didn’t want to ask.. I can barely look at myself in the mirror, I’m so ashamed of it all, loving you.. believing all the cards and hard made gifts and promises.. you turned me into your whipping horse, your scape goat; you are not a victim,, you crave attention and justify it by gaslighting and flipping things around, you change every story every thing to fit what you need your friend to hear so they can Parrot back your lies to you die validation.. you need to learn or just leave people alone and live in your own personal hell, user abuser, you broke my heart mind and soul
I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope you can find the peace of mind you need to feel whole again. No one deserves psychologically abuse and manipulation. They are masters of projection, triggering a response to say it’s you and justifying their emotional abuse is text book stuff. I know how deeply it can damage you’re psyche when you’re faced with the reality of it all.. please seek help there are so many resources for survivor’s of domestic and narcissistic abuse, you’re not as alone as you think. You can always keep trying even after you lost hope, just wanting to hope again can be enough I promise.
I'm so sorry 😞 they are the abusers not you no matter what anyone says. You'll get through it eventually I promise even when it seems hopeless you still matter and you can get over it if you try to live again.
They want to instill their trauma in you and destroy you, that’s how they feel power and control
Does it ever stop hurting? I’m still goto bed crying and wake up crying most days, why do they need to traumatize and ruin everything good in your life?
Lucas…. It’s shocking how similar our stories are. I know exactly what you mean. That confusion is physically painful. It wasn’t even until well after she was gone I could almost think straight again. The way she did it tho everything you described almost word for word, she always had chaotic unpredictable sometimes scary emotional reactions. I excused it and gave into all her needs for her growth and mental health because she had me so convinced she was this champion of mental health and psychology. I thought she was the most genuine caring person I’d ever met.. we spent everyday together for so long and then it was all me.. I was accused of being Bo polar an abuser a narcissist. It was the scariest most confusing time after Covid and all the stress I don’t think a lot of us realize the climate of everything out in our mental health.. it’s been the most damaging hurtful things a person has ever done To me , one after another like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.. even then when people were telling me she was manipulating and being unfair, abusing me and using emotional manipulation then blame shifting to put it all in me. Blame all her issues on me make me her next monster and call me crazy so she could leave and never face any of it.. years of lies and my reality just crumbled. It’s been so hard trying to come back and whenever I’m feeling strong life takes someone else away and I remember how far I’ve sunk and barely remember how it feels to be confident or feel safe and not just scared and confused.. admitting I was abused has been a challenge, they are masters at projection but they set it up for their story to fit what we narrative then tell people about you when you’re not listening. I hate all the things that are true because of what it means, I never loved a person like that or felt like I could be with someone and content forever .. she flipped it all and told me I was the weak one, I was mentally I’ll I was a burden no one ever liked me I was crazy and tortured me in the ways she promised not to always while calling me crazy and saying my reaction justified her horrible abuse and pretending to be a battered woman in the run.. I was catatonic falling over from panic attacks while she’s accusing me of hunting her down, it was insane but it was all lies and she set it up that was did what more behind the scenes to avoid ever talking communicating and used my mental health and pain like weapons after years of coddling hers. You feel sick and used everyday I do anyway it’s like I was chosen to her her practice hubby to work out the kinks and take her trauma out on. I’ve never felt so hurt or betrayed and she still insists she’s the victim .. just move on everyone believed you you ruined my life and used me for years missions accomplish! Why do they need to keep you tethered to them even after they moved on.. I deserve peace and to mourn my family and move on, but she’s adorable and a professional victim with all the money and entitlement she needs to do whatever she wants court wise. I just want my life back and to feel anything other than hurt and depressed again.. let me move on and we can just do that you know you lied and used me abused the system fine you win.. big victim for life you must be proud.. you don’t need power and control over my life for mistakes j made before we ever met you sick user.. why me? I was finally thriving and thought you were the love of my life like you promised I wanted to do all those things we talked about with you and only you.. and you used all my deepest pain to hurt me in ways you swore in everything you could never do.. why.. your life is so much more important?? Your mental health is worth destroying mine over because you claim you were abused, I doubt that’s even true anymore not how huh claim anyway blah.. I can’t even talk about I’m thanking ready to move on and heal myself but she won’t let it go
Sorry things have to get better some day you have to try to live again please for you. Please seek help you need to let people know you’re struggling to take care of yourself and too ashamed to admit you’re scared. You have to try to feed yourself again remember when you enjoyed cooking? You could put groceries away without crying? You can be you again you have to find a way out, stop writing stupid messages and find a new job, or figure something out. You can’t just rot here until you’re broke, please go get real food and don’t be afraid you can do it you use to sing and not even care in the grocery store. You used to not be afraid of anything really, now you’re just like she was.. is that who you want to be? You know you need help you’ve been too depressed for too long, no it’s not fair, I never imagined you’d have to live with this again, you don’t deserve it, but you have to find a way to move on in spite of it. Do it for me, I still care about you
You said it better than I ever could. It’s been 2 years and there are still days it all comes gliding back, all the pain and confusion… it’s crippled me as a person, and I’m still being labeled the abuser, hell even moreso now. It’s insane it’s like our whole relationship was a setup for a victim story just because she wants to relate to her groups and stream about being a survivor! I never even raised my voice to her, I have to stop before I can’t. It’s still so unbelievable!
Hi , I’m susie, i have been putting up with narcissistic abuse from my daughter for years and in the last couple of months she has got so bad, she has broke me down to my lowest point and I don’t know what to do any more .My family all assure me I have been a great mum but I feel she is trying to turn everyone against me.My mum in law passed away March 2nd this year and my daughters 27th birthday was March 6th ,we were to busy organising the funeral and she was only bothered about her birthday and called me a horrible disgusting person because I wasn’t giving her attention, this was a very sad time for us but feel I haven’t been able to mourn as she is making it all about her . Her rage is like something from a horror film and the things she says are so hurtful. .My husband and the rest of the family have told me to block her from my phone so I don’t have to read the abussive texts she sends me . I have a wonderful family who are there for me but feel unless you are the one getting the abuse you don’t understand how your insides feel I’ve constantly got knots in my stomach and feel ill with it all.The hardest thing is understanding why she hates me so much, I have four kids and-she is my only daughter . I feel like I have to cut all ties with her but then that would make me a bad mum!!!
It is the most painful and empowering thing a woman can do, leave their Narc partner. I didn’t realize what I was going thru, it took a friend to tell me I was with a Narc. I walked away from my job, family and friends to go start a life with my partner in another state. As we started living together the emotional abuse started, he knew I needed to financially depend on him and he would take away at a moments notice. It left me unraveled. One minute it’s I love you so much- the next it’s your selfish and I’ve given you everything! It took all my strength but I left. Even knowing I still loved him. Women and men, fight for yourself! Find a friend, a family member anyone who you can turn to and get out of the cycle of abuse.
How were you able to leave? I am financially dependent on my narc husband and am also pregnant with his second child. We moved cross country so he can work for our fathers company (our fathers wre bhsiness partners, thats how I met him) and now we live close to his family. I have no money for a divorce and no one even believes the extent of the abuse. I really don't know where to start!
This is not sound advice, you empower More covert narcissistic abuse by using no contact and imposing ridiculous unfair boundaries in an established relationship. It can be the bravest and most empowering thing a woman can do.. but more often these days womens groups for narcissistic abuse full of enablers and people looking for reinforcement and validation. Communication, honesty, those are healthy.. cutting a long term person out of your life and never looking back is not healthy for anyone it’s traumatic.. groups who peach this like gospel should be condemned.. you exploit women as a women during vulnerable times… I’m not alone here I’ve talked to so many women who’ve experienced the cult tactics that’s being packaged by women who’s agenda is anything but feminism.. it’s shameful and I pray people come to their senses and realize how many fake unaccredited women are exploiting the cause and hurting women.. teaching that inequality and one sided special rights are what we need.. please educate yourselves before falling into these witch hunt mind sets and strict rules meant for abuse not to leave guilt free ladies
Many, many thanks to all of you strong and caring people for taking your precious time out to help all of us who read your stories to gain some perspective of what has happened or indeed still happening to some poor souls. I have found this site and all of your comments invaluable in helping me to understand and to escape from my NPD partner. It was very hard and I am still struggling as he is not due to leave until tomorrow with all his stuff for good. I am praying that he does go as promised. half his stuff(clothes etc) are already gone, so I am holed up in my room alone trying to keep safe and waiting. My nerves are shattered and although i am in bits i’m holding out(just about) thank you all once again, for caring enough to post your experiences, and I wish you all the best for your futures narcissist free xx
I have been with this man for almost 3 years. I do believe he is a narccisist but i have only been learning about it recently. When we first got together hes was the most amazing man the the world. I was the happiest i believe i had ever been. Everything would be perfect then he would disappear. He left and came back like 3 times. Being gone from 1-3 weeks. I still took him back. That was over the first 6 months. After that it was perfect again. Soon everything was about about him. He had me move from my home to another county which is something normally i would have never done. I had three kids and was close with my family. I never even considered moving away. Once we moved everuthing was about him. Even things like caring for my kids upset him he would say i was ignoring him. I drew disability and all money was in his control. He did not work and was on drugs. We soon lost our home and my kids were took by state. After that he still wanted me to evalve around him. When i would have appointments for my kids he would take off last minute or all the sudden my car wouldnt start. After it was to late to go he would leave in the car no problem. I was not to ralk to anyone but him. At first he never left my side. W
Then at the end be was gone most of the time. He would leave earl when he woke up and come home late. When he was here all i was to do was sit with him doing nothing. But yet he would not act like i was even there. He would not talk or acknowledge me unless it was for se ual favor. Yet if i would try to do something else he would tell me not cause he wanted us to talk and then would go back to ignoring me. He has kept me on a drug since late the first year. I went to a meeting about one of my kids and they gave me a drug test. I had ecstasy in my system at really high levels and i have never done or been around it. Before that point i believed i was going crazy. I was confused and he swore i was doing things i thought i knew he had done. It was after this i. Came across a website about narccisism. I had never heard of it before. He still says he loves and needs me. But its always followed by he wishes i could love him or he accuses me of cheatting. When he knows for one i never would but also that its not possible. It has been about 24 hrs since i left and currently i feel numb no emotion at all. Could this be normal. Part of me wants to miss him but then he was rarely here. I have alot of confusion and im seeking to find help. But any advice would help. Am i crazy or was he wrong or maybe both. I really dont know anymore. Nothing makes since.
I am a lesbian and just realized now that my four relationship has ended that I was dealing with a Narcissist. It feels kike my whole world is lost and I am a walking confused shell of a person. I am not working right now and just don't know what to do but I have to fight because I have a 11 year old who is in a ware and even my relationship with her I feel it's ruined. I put everything into my relationship even though I still took care of my daughter. I still feel kike a fool and like I have no where to turn. The pain is unbearable and I slowly feel like I'm emotionally dying. I am so lost and don't know how I will pick up the pieces of my life..m.??
It will be incredibly painful for several months, like kicking a drug habit. Eventually you will come out the other side, but you must stay away. Your ex will try to come back eventually, if you let her the abuse will keep getting worse. Do it for your daughter until you are stronger. I have been through this myself more than once. No contact is the only way, they only come back to hurt you even worse.
I've just been discarded from a 8 yr toxic relationship with a narc,I've never felt so low in my life I'm into my 8th week free from him,it is so hard because I miss him he was a big part of my life,he ended it over txt and had already sourced his new supply,little does she know she will go through exactly the same as I did,the night before he txt he had said he loved me.the hardest part is is getting my head around the last 8yrs was a lie,I also feel very sorry for his next victim,at the moment I need to find the strength to get out this black hole and get some self love back.
I was discarded....again...the day after valentines day and a few days before my birthday. I made the mistake of going to his shop to help him as we worked together anyway. He went crazy, flagged down the police and made me leave. He told them he wants a non molestation order against me. Two days before we had all had a lovely day out together. I have since found out that he has been telling everyone that we haven't been together for ages and i don't work on his shop anymore. Funny how I was the one keeping of open when he was away telling these lies.
He has a boat in the barn at my house but he is refusing to collect it. If I do anything with it he will have me arrested for criminal damage as he has done in the past. I have children so I don't want to put myself in that situation. I just don't understand if I'm all the things he says I am and he is clearly seeing someone else.....which he denies.....why won't he just collect his boat so I don't have to keep looking at it?...it hurts....its like he won't let me move on yet has made it clear he doesn't want me. He has now joined the Jehovah witnesses. I'm a mess but I don't want to feel like this forever
I feel for you. I was in a very similar situation, where I worked with the guy for almost three years and it all ended in an instant. No arguement, nothing. He just told me to never speak to him again, goodbye. When I tried to return his equipment and paperwork for his business he accused me of stalking, and even turned my children against me. For almost a year I felt powerless, that this man was in control of my life and there was nothing I could do. I thought it must be my fault (which is what the narcissist wants you to think of course).
I do not know your exact situation, but I think you have already made a very positive step by recognising this as narcissistic abuse. It took me a long time to acknowledge that, and was the first step to recovery. Then I looked into my legal rights, from a business point of view. Not something I wanted to do to someone I was so close to, but it was necessary. It helped me a lot to discover that I had rights, that there was something I could do.
One thing I learned is that you can not save a relationship with a narcissist, or end one amicably. A narcissist never really knows who you are, because you are simply a source of fulfilment for them. Once they move on, you become irrelevant. I think this is why the narc in my life accused me of stalking. To him, I was a stranger annoying him, so he genuinely believed it. I did the worst thing I could possibly have done, and tried to defend myself. I pleaded with him to stop saying these things, which of course made it worse. When I started to realise this, I started to let go of the relationship, or hopes of an amicable parting. But I was still trapped by business issues and property, and like you I did not want the reminder. I think a part of me wanted him to collect this stuff, so we could have another chance at an amicable parting.
This is why it helped to discover my legal rights. I have not yet decided what I will do, but it did help to know that I could do something. I don’t know where you are, or the law there, but there must be some system of fair notice. If you offer him the option to recover his boat by provable means (such as an email or registered post) and give him a reasonable amount of time to collect you should be free to dispose of it after that time. Maybe worth looking into? I know that for me I will never truly be able to move on while I still have this stuff reminding me, and probably still deep down hope for that last interraction....good luck! Xx
I was married to covert narcissist for 23 years . My ather was a narcissist but I was his golden child and that was extremely difficult to navigate as my mom and kids see him as the victim martyr role he is presenting. My biggest concern is helping my adult children understand the impact he’s had on them and the parental alienation he is trying to accomplish with them. Do you have any resources or counseling referrals you could suggest. I think the sooner they understand why they struggle with addiction and
Codependency the easier it will be to seek help. ANY ADVICE you could forward along would help me and my kids immensely . Thanks so much , Lisa
I have been at the receiving end of the narcissistic discard.
I'm 22 and the relationship in actuality lasted for about 8 months. The worst time of my life.
It started with the usual love bombing phase and since it was my first relationship I even though after knowing something seemed "off" went ahead with the relationship.
He never seemed to hear any of my emotional pleas and was never ever there to have my back. The abuse started 3 months into the relationship. Everytime he would treat me like shit and never resolved the issues. I would inevitably take him back. He purposely tried to make me jealous of other females even though I'm considered an attractive and smart woman. By the time it reached the six months mark I was reduced to a former shadow of myself with constant abuse and hits on my self esteem.
He left me after final physical abuse eventually but continued to take advantage of me both physically and financially, which I did in the hopes that he would come back.
He is in the same class as me so I have to look at him everyday. He has made me chase him and then blatantly ignored me and destroyed my reputation as being the crazy ex , at times going to the length of saying to.his friends to date me so.that I'm off his back. He told me all this himself with a smirk.
He still continues to toy with me while knowing how things are affecting me and I believe he sometimes take pride in my miserable times.
I've been following no contact but some days such as these are very hard on me, especially when I have to see him everyday with his new supply.
I hope to make through this situation without losing myself.
I am in a situation where he is about to throw me In prison for three years if I don't get out and get help now. He is a man of steel with a deep and dark heart. I need help.
This is an excellent account of narcissistic abuse. I lost almost everything to a man who never existed. He devalued my acheivments and all my life experiences. Cheated on me drove my family away by his tantrums, bullied me. I did everything to please him and it was like living with a spoilt child, i dreaded his moods. He cheated on me and then try to make out he was nothing. He would blow up over the smallest perceived slight.I lived on egg shells. Then he left me abruptly I was in shock, he left on a whim and went back to his ex wife after x amount of years. Since then he has contacted me and wanted to get back with me, left a flower on my car several times. I have struggled to remain contact free, but I must for my own sanity. I am able to look back and see how I ended up with this N. I was vulnerable when he met me, he loved bombed me then devalued me and discarded me over and over again. I was a shadow of my former self. He really broke me , told me what to wear eat even once how to breathe! But I'm freee I'm so glad he left me. I'm rebuilding my life and I now see the signs. I fear I have been damaged by this relationship I dont know how to get over that. UK
Not knowing these demons existed, I married one almost 10 years ago. In my opinion I married the worst kind of narc, he is a phsicatris and using his station as a doctor to get away with way more than he should. The courts and other professionals believe his ward over mine, at least that's how it feels. When I went to court to file for full custody because he was physically abusive (and I had proof of it) and a alcoholic, I walked away with shared parenting because nobody would touch him because he was a doctor and I had no degree or career because of him. Our legal system sucks and there not going to take notice until something horrible happens to my kids in his care for anyone to listen.
Even though I'm divorced from him and live clear across town, I can't seem to get away from his reach of Narc behavior. I'm trying to move on but still feel like I'm drowning in his abuse.
I finally left my covert narc husband after 11 years of marriage last weekend. I feel that I am on the edge of a cliff and leaping into the darkness without wings...... I have no job, a rented tiny cottage and little money but I have retained my sanity and I am grateful that the very things he tried to destroy in me have survived along with my will to be happy. Having a child with him I have to face the threats of annihilation he has been throwing at me for most of our marriage: the threat to destroy me financially, take custody of our child and leave me with absolutely nothing not even my good name. After our 3rd year of marriage I knew that something was abnormal in the way he acted, communicated, related to me. But to the outside world he was the most perfect, charitable kind and generous man you could meet. That is why I fell in love with him but after much reading I accidently came across narc books and realised that he held a vast number of 'covert' narc traits since I first met him 20 years ago - I must take responsibility for not walking away permanently back then. After 2 cycles of counselling throughout the last 3 years not one counsellor told me that he had narc covert traits - had this been pointed out to me I would have began to realise the numerous covert narc techniques he had used on me over the years repeatedly, most obvious being 'gaslighting'. For all of our marriage I have blamed myself for most of our 'problems' because how could such a good decent man be the problem? Of course I deserved everything he threw at me because as he said he was a good family man who worked hard for his family; so what if he became angry or gave me the cold shoulder for days, weeks or months at a time as I deserved it as I made him angry (although he wasn't 'angry' just 'frustrated' and it was my fault) I on the other hand was the lazy ungrateful unappreciative wife - that is why I deserved to have no affection, intimacy or empathy or compassion. I must also put up with his constant porn use since I had 'driven' him to it (he repeatedly has denied using it even with hard evidence produced in his face) - a therapist had after all told him he clearly had no addiction if as he said he 'could take porn or leave it' therefore his porn use was in retaliation for having a bad marriage and terrible wife (the doctor clearly was taken in by his narc strategies to fool her); He could of course do what he liked since he paid the bills and he brought in the money. If I didn't like it I could go and find some other 'sucker' who would quickly realise what a terrible person I was (a bad mother, a bad wife, a bad daughter, a bad human being) . He recently for the millionth time told me that no one would put up with me and I would one day (when it was all too late and he had found someone younger and wonderful) realise what a horrific mistake I had made but he had tried to make me see but failed as I was stubborn and always had been)... I was also good looking but that was it... 'there was nothing else to say about me other than my looks'. The full dawning of the abuse I had suffered, the full realisation to its extent only occurred on reading Malignant Self Love - Sam Vaknin. This book (hard reading) saved my life and sanity and gave me the courage to realise firstly I was the victim of abuse and secondly that no amount of couples counselling or changes in my behaviour (for example: find a highly paid job that matched his earnings) would 'mend/heal' my husband's dysfunction. After reading this book 2016 I immediately made my final counselling cycle appointment and thank god she had read Vaknin and was fully aware of the specific covert narc traits and after numerous sessions was in full agreement with my assumptions - she advised me for the sake of my health (I have been left with a 'shake' and stress hair loss), my mental health and the wellbeing of my child to escape my abuser husband at the earliest and safest opportunity. Sometimes it is extremely helpful to name a 'thing' and to know who your enemy is, what you are dealing with..... Once I knew for definite that this man that I married in the beautiful tropical islands in mid-2000s never existed, had never existed but only in my own imagination (and those of course who he wishes to hoodwink), the more I could research the Narc Covert traits and gain power from this knowledge - it has been invaluable and I advise anyone in a similar position to do the same. I must say there is a huge amount of information out there on the web and in books that focus entirely on Narc overts and this is why my husband's disorder never made sense since he didn't 'fit' into the overt Narc criteria (well only a handful of traits) therefore this really needs to change if women and men are to be educated to identify these types of people and to avoid them at all costs in the first instance. I lost my mother recently in horrific circumstances but my husband and his abuse prevented me from grieving. Even on the day of her funeral I began to make concrete mental plans to leave him and felt my mother's spirit urging me on (she suffered chronic domestic abuse during her own marriage).... And so now I am here typing this up in my own safe space with my child asleep in the next room. With my husband I lived in our beautiful big house in a beautiful village yet over the years I began to feel a deep overriding depression of hopelessness..... life, energy and spirit was draining from me from every pore. He occupied my every thought; I can see that now. My spirit was on the verge of being broken - he clearly through his abuse wanted to wipe me off the face of the earth - to obliterate me and that is what he nearly succeeded in doing and that realisation fills me with shock since when we met I was a strong, capable and fun/life loving woman filled with joy, hope and optimism. I am a shell of my former self. But I know what I have to do. I know I must heal and grow again and be a better version than I ever was before the abuse because that way I will never fall for a Narc again whether covert or overt or otherwise. I wish everyone who is reading this site because they realise they are being abused a very happy and narc-free life...... take courage, get out of the abuse and be the person you were born to be. We only have one life........ (A from UK)
This is the best comment I have read in explaining the process of being abused from beginning to end. This is ME!! I have been separated from my husband for over a year now, and I am finally starting to heal and find myself again. I have never met anyone in my life like my husband, I had no idea such demons existed.. thanks for sharing your story, it truly hit home for me and I am so glad I finally get clarity on my darkness!
I am a man and in similar circumstances to you. Separated from my wife in May because of Nacissistic abuse. To the world she looks perfect but at home very verbally abusive. Hang in there, please get the help and support you need. I have sought professional counseling that is very good at understanding Narcissistic abuse. I have to really hold on to the truth as it happened because mutual friends will try to downplay it. I have had to leave organizations and groups because of her influence. It does get better just takes time take care of yourself. Don't be afraid of your feelings, opinions and who you are. They tried to take this from us, I have had to rely in my faith in God and Jesus through this as they saw what really went on. Hope this helps, you are not alone.
Thank you for your kind words, it's refreshing to hear from someone who totally understands what I'm going through! I do have the professional help I need; however, it's remains a daily struggle for me. Educating myself has probably helped me the most. It's just hard for me to turn it all off (emotions & thoughts). Thanks for your reply, I wish you well!
Thank you both for your kind words. I am very pleased if only one person can find the strength to escape their personal hell or gain some form of clarity around this terrible human dysfunction through the reading of my story and make plans to leave. Others I hope will just gain comfort from knowing that someone out there understands the hell they have endured if being forced to live in similar circumstances. I really hope that someone somewhere will write some well researched evidence based books based on Covert Narcissism only as it is destroying lives and is clearly poorly identified even by those professionals working in relationship counselling/therapies. Such books would literally save the lives and sanity of thousands of people. I would be interested to know if the tactics used by Coverts in gas lighting etc for example are similar to those processes used by brain washing perpetrators. I can't help feel that I have been brain washed over the years of my marriage. May be this is a critical key in the process of recovery! Keep positive, keep plodding on forwards and never never look back.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. You truly give me hope. I am also married and have children with a covert narc with the seemingly beautiful life, which is of course one big facade. I've been a target to my husband since I was 14 and I see these disgusting traits in a of his family members too...right now i am pregnant with his second child and am also a stay at home mom without a solid income so I definitely need to start from the ground up....thanks again for sharing your story. Much blessings to you.
I just left covert narc husband after10 years together. Now that I'm healing myself, I can see that my mom was a narcissist and I've pretty much been groomed for this bs. as a child, I wondered why am I a good person when I should/ could be a great person. Then I left for college and didn't have to suffer her as directly.
Then I met narc spouse. Some stupid things I remember was being afraid that he would hear me pee. But I thought that was just nervousness from starting dating. Then when we lived together, I'd be scared to pee in the middle of the night because he'd get mad if I flushed and woke him up.. but if I didn't flush he'd be mad about seeing what was left in the latrine. And I had so much undo stress about something as dumb as that. And THAT was just the beginning. it just kept getting worse on every facet until I started taking Prozac right after we got married. When I finally left is when I was considering taking ADHD mess because I couldn't think and had no motivation to do anything. I had a constant eye twitch. And my wrists/ hands didn't work. So I left the house to figure things out. And when I was out of his influence, I realized that I'd been abused.
I wasn't even planning to divorce then, either (baby steps). Until one day I went back into the house to pick up our young son and spouse lost his mind. He was screaming and crying and saying I was hollering at him (when in fact I was cowering on the floor in fear). So that's when i decided I would not be married any more.
I've lost a ton of friends because things have been set up as if he's the good, responsible partner and I'm the crazy, irresponsible one. But knowing that they will Never understand has made letting them go easy. Plus they were his friends. They are not ppl i would choose to befriend on my own. As an exhaust valve 2 years ago, I started doing stand up comedy. It's been therapeutic. I go to Al Anon, therapy and yoga.
Keep climbing, friends.
I first got with my gf 4years ago ,everything was fine at the start. Then slowly I noticed she was going at mad at me with things I never did like she would say I shouted at her when I didn't, I physically did things to her when I didn't. I couldn't understand what's going on I felt like am I going crazy? Am honest when it comes things i know am not perfect. I always apologize when I do wrong and try to change things to do better. She would never apologize gets angry when I confront her or ask her to apologize. She sends me texts or images that would make me think she's with some one else. when I confront her she always has a twist and say I didn't mean that or you got the wrong end of stick. Weeks days go by we don't talk n get back together as I feel sorry for her and keep thinking maybe I am in the wrong or at faults.
But i just don't understand what it is I feel like I am not myself I feel drained dead inside. I was bubbly confident person before I met her.. I find it really hard to move on with life and she's drilled my head I will never ever find anyone like her and the grass is not always greener her exact word . I feel bit lost and stuck.
Can this be me in the fault am I just playing mr softy and probably feeling sorry for myself or is she just a wrong character. I don't know the difference or right or wrong no more.
I'm another guy who has finally left his covert narcissistic wife. I don't have much to add to the descriptions in this story and in these responses. These descriptions have been told time and time again. I just wanted to point out how much more difficult it is for a man to get help when being abused by a covert narcissist. Once you've lived this, you eventually realize that the narcissist isn't lying to you when they accuse you of abuse, no matter how ridiculous or exaggerated the accusations. They actually feel that you have hurt them. It's called narcissistic harm. They truly believe they are a victim. As NPD is a personality disorder, it is both their perception of reality and their reaction to this perception which is affected without them even knowing it. All too often, this genuine belief is enough to convince others that the actual abuser is the victim of abuse. This is especially true and devastating when a divorce with young children occurs. The female narcissist will be able to create many "flying monkeys" through her claims of abuse and these people will help her in her quest for full control and full custody of the young children (who can't much understand the problem yet). This is happening to thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of families every year and our culture has very few means of addressing it as men are never thought of as the victim and women are never thought of as being the villain.
Thank you for the post. It has been so challenging for support to through this process. No one believes you and most importantly you want to do the right thing. Especially when we have kids. I have finally moved out of my house to leave a controlling wife. The abuse was that was given was that I am not leader. I can't be trusted. I am always destroying her. I don't make her feel good. The constant skepticism and anything that I might know. I am running for my life.
Yes justbrecovering. Getting my self esteem back, re engaging in my life again. Still grieving for the charming man I met. I have also lost so many friends from this relationship,I am lonely now
I have been with my narc for 20 years. On a family vacation to visit his family he and his mother blew up in my face about speaking to his ex brother in law. I was forced to leave the house without my kids and spent three nights in a hotel with no transportation until he decided to go back home and was nice enough to allow me to ride along ? I am prepared to file once we return home but because we have children how do I prepare for the rage that is anticipated because going no contact is not an option
I am just beginning my recovery from a N spouse. My first instinct is to tell YO that no contact IS an option. As unhealthy as your mate is for you tjey are that unhealthy for your children. Educate your children well in the strain that a Narc is suffering from and go no contact with compassion. I've been reading some on interventions for Narcs too. Good for you for getting out! Best thoughts go out to you.
I have recently left my narcisstic husband after 2 years.
When we first dated he was the ideal man, kind generous and loving. As soon as we got married his behaviour changed, he became cold uncaring ...it was , secretive, just strange I could never put my finger on it. I began to think it was me and that I was argumentative and unreasonable. He admitted he had an issue with OCD so I took him to see a psychiatrist - I never got to find out the results of the sessions due to patient confidentiality. It all came to a head when I became exhausted by his behaviour never eating, sleeping, silent treatment, refusing to share money , refusing to work and rude behaviour towards my family . It escalated into a massive argument which resulted in me finding out he had been previously been married, is violent and a compulsive gambler. I had a lucky escape . For me it was comforting to find out from his ex that he had already behaved in this manner with someone else. It wasn't me and I wasn't imaging it. I've only just realised that I have married to a narcisst and suffered narcisstic abuse . It's not something I had ever heard of before. My advice to anyone in a relationship with a narcist don't think they will ever change. They won't. The only person who will change is you - you will lose who you are . You have to be strong and leave before you forget who
You are.
Im a man After 13 years with my wife. I had gone so far as hiding under the bed. I with drew from life. I wanted to die I felt so trapped. I gained 115 lbs. Had 2 heart attacks worked my self crazy to maintain her needs. When I had nothing left for her she found another man to abuse. She wanted to be freinds. I'm only know understanding why this has been so hard on me. I've been in combat under fire with no problems but this was killing me. I'm still getting a grip on it all
Recovery is so hard because you already gave away all your power, then you are left with none for yourself. He has moved on to another suppy and is happy as a clam. Meanwhile, you....the "ONE" he wanted forever, is left in a puddle of your own emptiness. Answering your own questions..."How could I have let this happen?" is impossible. It's hard to remember that it was his illness, not yours. He just dragged you into his world, just because you loved him and you believed he was who he represented himself to be.
No one understands the pain of a narcissistic relationship unless you have experienced the hurt first hand. The road to recovery is a road few victims travel. The first step is to want to feel better. From there dedicate yourself to change. Meaning picking up moving forward, and letting go of what has happened. Also, it is important to realize you cannot make a narcissist change or help them realize the pain they cause. Take the lid of life and choose to live again.
I'm glad that sites like these exist and that some light is being shed on the issues of dealing with people with personality disorders. So very few know about this.
I am nearly 4 years divorced from my NPD wife after 11 years of marriage. Mine was the terribly easy connection of an NPD with a Codependent - a dance that is easily started, difficult to end, and horribly devastating for one of the participants. I had never known about NPD until I sought therapy post divorce, and the "epiphany" of learning about this dynamic took so much off of my own psyche. But still, all this time later, I'm feeling the effects in many aspects of my life.
Part of the issue is that we have children together, so I am constantly exposed to my abuser and she still has ways of purposefully making my life miserable and exerting control wherever she can - and using the kids is fair game. Like many of you all have experienced, at times my NPD reaches out with kind words and false regret to draw me in. I realize it's her need for narc supply, but that does not prevent the heart strings from being pulled. We all know that this then cycles like the moon, and later she presses the buttons she knows will hurt me the most in order to inflict pain. The most terrible part is her innate knowledge on what to say to get the most pain possible. During our time together she stored all of my vulnerabilities, my fears, and my insecurities in her mind for the sole purpose of weaponizing them against me - and she is a master weapons maker.
I see her effects on my children, but courts and lawyers are just not as educated as they should be to this and my efforts to gain more custody fall on deaf ears. Thankfully, my kids naturally sense this and now that their parents apart they can feel the difference in their time with me compared to my ex. As they get older and have more control of where they stay I'm thankful they are choosing the safe environment that I am providing.
So we all know the abuse. We know the manipulation, the blame projection, the isolating, the gaslighting, and the loss of self. The trick here is where do we navigate after and try to find ourselves again? I've done therapy, medication, and read everything I could and I think I have a certain portion of the person I once was. I'm still so sad though and even a bit disappointed in myself. I seem to make certain choices still out of fear. Fear of conflict, fear of failure, fear of in any way doing something that could lead to that pain that almost killed me after my marriage broke up. I never was one to shy from a challenge or embrace a change in my life, but after this I am just so hesitant to step out of my comfort zone. It applies to work, to my finances, and even to relationships I've had. I hope that sites like these can help us rediscover our true selves. I know we won't be like we were before these abusers entered our lives, and that's OK. I just hope we all find a way to live for ourselves again and let go of these tendrils that still might have their grips on us.
I would like to talk with you about how to handle having an Ex-N with children. My email is divinedesignjewelry@gmail.com