You can start healing from narcissistic abuse by first acknowledging that it happened to you. Then, heal your mind through your body by partaking in self-care through enjoyable physical activity. Lastly, you can reach out to your support system or a support group for guidance and care.
Is it possible to fully recover from narcissistic abuse? It can take years to fully recover from the damage that was done because of the psychological manipulation that you have endured. That being said, moving past the abuse and achieving full recovery is entirely possible with professional help.
Recovering from narcissistic abuse takes time, so you will have to remain patient. This process could take months or even years, but it's worth all of the hard work and effort. You can and will move on to find healthier and happier connections with others.
Chronic abuse can lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially in victims who experienced other traumas. The result of narcissistic abuse can also include a pervasive sense of shame, overwhelming feelings of helplessness, and emotional flashbacks.
Narcissistic abuse changes your brain
But, there is hope. There are reparative activities you can do to restore and rebuild your hippocampus and stop the hijacking of your psyche by your amygdala.
As a narcissistic abuse survivor, you will likely have symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Your brain will be on high alert, looking out for danger. This is because the traumatic events triggered a fight or flight response within you. As a result, anything associated with those memories can trigger an anxiety attack.
The aftermath of narcissistic abuse can include depression, anxiety, hypervigilance, a pervasive sense of toxic shame, emotional flashbacks that regress the victim back to the abusive incidents, and overwhelming feelings of helplessness and worthlessness.
When children suffer at the hands of a narcissistic abuser, some crucial brain regions are affected, including damage to the hippocampus and amygdala. These changes lead to devastating effects on the lives of these children.
After a relationship with a narcissist or sociopath, this wound is pretty much guaranteed to be passed along. For some it may be a reactivation of old childhood beliefs. For others, it may be the first time we felt the wound of core shame, a very abrupt and confusing separation from our true selves.
“The moment that you start to wonder if you deserve better, you do.” “Just because someone desires you, does not mean that they value you.” “A healthy relationship will never require you to sacrifice your friends, your dream, or your dignity.” “When it hurts to move on, just remember the pain you felt hanging on.”
Recovery from a narcissist can be more difficult than other relationships partly due to self-criticism in the aftermath. Trashing a narcissistic ex may feel better momentarily, but it also re-engages the narcissist, which is what they want.
Psychological trauma from their abuse will not just go away. In fact, this type of abuse can cause long lasting post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The abuse from a narcissist is overwhelming. It is hard to identify and sufferers tend to blame themselves and continue to suffer long after the relationship is over.
Narcissistic personalities tend to be formed by emotional injury as a result of overwhelming shame, loss or deprivation during childhood. The irony is that despite showing an outwardly strong personality, deep down these individuals suffer from profound alienation, emptiness and lack of meaning.
"Narcissistic abuse syndrome can take a severe toll on a person's emotional health over time," noted Dr. Parmar. It can lead to other mental illnesses—like depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
The emotional hangover when we're undergoing recovery from a narcissistic relationship is typically profound sadness and secondary to this feeling is rage. Rage that someone who professed to love you could suddenly turn around and treat you so entirely without empathy. The rage quite often is disguised as depression.
The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions. This is very similar to what victims of narcissistic abuse go through, namely Post Narcissist Stress Disorder (PNSD).
Complex trauma (C-PTSD) is a type of trauma that involves repeated experiences of emotional neglect, verbal and psychological abuse, shaming, and/or other emotional abuse. Complex trauma might coincide with physical or sexual abuse, but not always.
The prospect of leaving may equate to a feeling of being truly alone; Fear of reprisals – The narcissist may have created a culture of fear and anxiety in their partner's life. Emotional, physical or sexual abuse may be present.
Gaslighting.
Frequent use of phrases such as “You provoked me,” “You're too sensitive,” “I never said that,” or “You're taking things too seriously” after the narcissists' abusive outbursts are common and are used to gaslight you into thinking that the abuse is indeed your fault or that it never even took place.
Narcissists don't fail to notice your suffering, they take joy in it. Natalie Frank, Ph. D. While narcissists can be annoying due to their total self-absorption and tendency to seek attention and admiration from others, some possess a darker side.