• You may feel confused and unsure of yourself after being in a relationship with a narcissist. It’s not uncommon to find yourself questioning your own sanity or wondering if you’re the one who’s crazy. But don’t worry, it’s just the gaslighting talking!
• Narcissists often make their partners feel like they are the problem, which can lead to feelings of guilt and shame. They’ll twist things around so that everything is always your fault – even when it clearly isn’t. You could be standing there minding your own business and suddenly they’ll blame you for ruining their day.
• Gaslighting is common in relationships with narcissists, leaving you feeling like your own perception of reality is distorted. They’ll tell you something happened when it didn’t, or deny saying something they clearly said five minutes ago. It’s enough to make anyone start second-guessing themselves.
• The constant criticism from a narcissistic partner can leave you feeling worthless and inadequate. No matter what you do, it never seems good enough for them. Your hair looks bad? Your clothes aren’t stylish enough? You’re too fat/skinny/tall/short? They’ve got an opinion on all of it.
• Narcissists tend to lack empathy, so it’s not uncommon for their partners to feel emotionally neglected or unimportant. If something important happens in your life – good or bad – don’t expect much sympathy from them either way. Unless of course, they somehow manage to turn the situation back around onto themselves…
• If you’ve been involved with a narcissist, you may struggle with trust issues in future relationships.
It can be hard to let someone else get close again after having been burned by someone who was supposed to love and care about us but only cared about themselves instead.
• A key trait of many narcissists is an inability to take responsibility for their actions,
which can leave their partners feeling frustrated and helpless. They’ll blame everything on external factors – the weather, their boss, your dog – rather than owning up to anything they’ve done wrong themselves.
• After ending things with a narcissistic partner, some people report feeling relieved but also grieving the loss of what could have been.
It’s almost like mourning for the relationship you thought you had or hoped it would be. But trust us when we say: there are plenty of fish in the sea who won’t make you feel like crap all the time!
• Narcissists often manipulate their partners,
leaving them feeling used and exploited. They might convince you that doing something for them is really “for your own good” or that they’re making sacrifices for you (when really it’s just another way to control you).
• It’s common for victims of narcissistic abuse to experience anxiety or depression as a result of the relationship.
When someone has spent months or years being told how terrible they are by someone else, it can take a toll on their mental health.
• After being in a relationship with a narcissist,
you may struggle with setting boundaries and asserting yourself in future relationships. You might find yourself second-guessing every decision or letting others walk all over you because standing up for yourself feels too scary.
• Narcissists can be very charming and charismatic at first,
which can make it difficult to recognize their toxic behavior until it’s too late. That initial charm wears off pretty quickly once they start showing their true colors though…
• In some cases, narcissists will try to isolate their partners from friends and family members,
leaving them feeling alone and vulnerable. The less support network around us, the easier we are to control…or so thinks our beloved narcopath.
• If you’ve been involved with a narcissist for an extended period of time,
you may have lost touch with your own identity or sense of self-worth. They’ll try to mold you into the person they want you to be, rather than accepting and loving you for who you are.
• Some people who have left relationships with narcissists report experiencing PTSD-like symptoms due to the trauma they endured during the relationship.
It’s not just a matter of “getting over it” or moving on – sometimes, we need professional help to heal from this kind of abuse.
• Narcissistic partners often engage in love-bombing early on in the relationship before gradually becoming more controlling and manipulative over time.
They might shower us with gifts or attention at first, but eventually that will turn into demands for our undivided attention 24/7…and then things get really ugly.
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