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.
Some examples of long-term effects include mood and anxiety disorders, physical ailments such as headaches, stomachaches, or body aches, the inability to get a good night's sleep or having nightmares, and a lowered sense of self-worth.
After the break-up, people will experience an obsessive longing for their abusive partner (drug), debilitating emotional pain, and often engage in self-destructive behavior. This emotional response is why some people feel incapacitated by the hurt and obsess about hooking up with an ex-partner for more abuse.
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 effects of psychological and narcissistic abuse come with many devastating consequences, but there are two that almost no one knows aboutunless theyre a doctor or neuroscientist.
Recovery after a breakup with a toxic narcissist can be hard to do. 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.
Sometimes known as narcissistic victim syndrome, the experience refers to adverse mental health outcomes that result from being on the receiving end of a narcissistic personality. Narcissistic abuse syndrome is not a mental health condition that healthcare providers can officially diagnose.
Victims of narcissistic abuse have been reported to experience symptoms similar to PTSD, known informally as narcissistic abuse syndrome. Symptoms include intrusive, invasive, or unwanted thoughts, flashbacks, avoidance, feelings of loneliness, isolation, and feeling extremely alert.
Narcissistic abuse happens when someone with narcissistic personality disorder tries to manipulate you. An abuser with NPD may try to control you by isolating you from friends and family. Narcissistic abusers may also gaslight you, make you feel worthless, or bring others into the abuse.
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.
Even more narcissism
The longer you exist within a world of narcissistic diminishment, the more you might come to believe that is a normal and acceptable way to live and interact. In turn, you might begin to exhibit narcissistic qualities of your own, and become cold to things like empathy and compassion for others.
It can make it difficult for her to trust men and may cause her to have an intense need for control in future relationships. Anxiety and Depression: Anxiety and depression are common side effects of this type of abuse. Victims often have difficulty leaving the house, dealing with people, or even caring for themselves.
According to Tanya, “Narcissistic abuse is about power and control,” which “can be verbal, emotional, psychological, financial, sexual, and/or physical.” Often, a Narcissist suffers from feeling a lack of control in their life, so they try to control the people around them.
The Covert Narcissist's Abusive Behaviors
These self-serving tactics can include gaslighting and distorting reality; manipulations to get what they want; showing contempt and giving the silent treatment; dominating and controlling their partner; and belittling and humiliating verbally and emotionally.
Victims of narcissistic abuse often fall into the trap of damaging self-criticism. Their emotional recovery is impeded because they feel like a fool for believing the things that the narcissist said or do. They think that something is actually wrong with them because they failed to see the person for who he or she was.
They are very insecure and sensitive people, which means they can take offence very easily. This can end up in couples having the same arguments over and over again. Sometimes they are unaware of being abusive to their partners, but other times they will genuinely want to cause them harm.
Narcissists also gaslight or practice master manipulation, weakening and destabilizing their victims; finally, they utilize positive and negative emotions or moments to trick others. When a narcissist can't control you, they'll likely feel threatened, react with anger, and they might even start threatening you.
Through ongoing gaslighting and demeaning of the partner, the narcissist undermines the individual's self-worth and self-confidence, creating extreme emotional abuse that is constant and devastating.
Complex trauma survivors can become socially withdrawn and self-isolate due to the abuse. Since they never develop a sense of safety, they distrust others while simultaneously searching for a “rescuer” who can finally give them the unconditional positive regard they were robbed of in childhood.
Narcissists and psychopaths dissociate (erase memories) a lot (are amnesiac) because their contact with the world and with others is via a fictitious construct: The false self. Narcissists never experience reality directly but through a distorting lens darkly.
Emotional abuse is linked to thinning of certain areas of the brain that help you manage emotions and be self-aware — especially the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe. Epigenetic changes and depression. Research from 2018 has connected childhood abuse to epigenetic brain changes that may cause depression.
Reasons a person self-isolates after narcissistic abuse
Survivors of narcissistic abuse, much like survivors of intimate partner violence, may experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a 2014 study .