How A Relationship With A Narcissist Can Cause Lifelong Trauma + How To Heal

Leaving a narcissist doesn't end with simply physically leaving, packing up your belongings, and building a new life. Women, for instance, go back to their abuser an average of seven times, even if she was the one who initiated the termination. During one of these times, she may lose her life. 

If you're fresh out of that relationship, you'll blame yourself and fall prey to their requests to meet because they'd love to apologize and thank you—during which they'll hook you back. They'll intermittently appear and disappear from your life, especially when you're starting to live better again, because they don't want you having a good life without them. Sometimes, you'll miss them and want to reach out. Or you continue keeping in touch because you think that's the polite thing to do, and that's how the narcissist continues to subtly poison you, impeding your healing.

But the effects of having dated a narcissist can continue to linger even after you've cut off all contact and your legal entanglements with them are over.

The thing about trauma is that our brains need closure. And so sometimes we end up in similar relationships, or what we call "repetition compulsion" in psychology. It feels like a bad magic spell, and we feel more helpless and hopeless with time. 

Or, fast-forward decades. You can be in an amazing relationship with someone who loves you, but you're always looking over your shoulder. You're haunted by the trauma and anxiety, which you may manage by medicating yourself with work, overthinking, or praying, but it's always in the background. You wonder why people hurt you and why you can't trust most humans. And one fine day, the trauma catches up with you, and you break down. 

This trauma can even pass on to your next generations—some evidence suggests that unresolved trauma passes on genetically and energetically within the family line so that it can be resolved by one's descendants eventually. In the case of narcissistic abuse, that means people later in your family line could end up being involved in relationships with abusers, or become abusers themselves. In spiritual circles, the saying that the same lessons will present themselves over and over again until we've learned them.

Let's use an analogy we all understand. There is a wound, and we cannot merely slap on Band-Aids. We have to go deep and clean it and harness our natural ability to heal and rejuvenate. At the same time, we'll ensure that the surface of the skin strengthens and beautifies. In other words, we work on both the roots and symptoms at the same time. 

If you do not have any more entanglements with them, keep it that way. Do not even dream of staying friends. Keep accountable to someone you can contact when you want to communicate with the narcissist. If you have joined responsibilities and assets, engage professionals and intermediaries. This applies even to going to your previously shared property to collect your belongings.

One thing that infuriates me is the myth that trauma and mental health problems can at best be managed your entire life. That is not true. Make sure that the professional you engage is trauma-trained and understands the specific struggles you are experiencing and knows all the traps to look out for and the way the human brain can sabotage your healing. For instance, panic attacks are common when you've been with an abuser, so your professional must know how to treat them.

It's not enough to simply talk and bypass the pain intellectually or spiritually; trauma is stored in your body, and you have to actively rewire the fear center and timekeeper in your brain. Nor is it enough to simply "work on the future" or tell yourself mantras you don't believe. You cannot bypass processing what you've gone through. Otherwise your past will haunt you with a vengeance eventually

We didn't go to school and learn how to identify dark personality types or what boundaries are, so it's not your fault. What you do with this experience henceforth, however, is your responsibility.

You don't have to explain to everyone about what's going on in your life, what you're doing, and why you ended up in a toxic relationship. People will pry, some out of concern, others out of nosiness, and then a few because they want to signal superiority because they never landed in your predicament. Difficult people will force their opinions and prescriptions for your future down your throat. Not everyone is on your side—take this as an opportunity to streamline your relationships.

You may be physically removed from the narcissist, but they can often live in your head. Abuse trains us to blame ourselves. You may realize that you're angry with yourself for everything—not recognizing the abuse, falling in love, staying too long, or for even leaving. You'll blame yourself for many things you continue to do.

Perhaps you've had tons of memories in a place you used to frequent with your ex. And you really enjoy that place. You don't need to taint that solely with the past. Make new memories in activities and places with yourself or people you trust.

The intricacies of an abusive relationship are such that it's hard for someone who's never been in one to truly understand. There'll be a lot of doubt cast on you, making you wonder if you are truly silly for having fallen for one. You'll also doubt yourself if your narcissist was "that bad," or if you're being dramatic, because gaslighting erodes your sense of reality. Moreover, no relationship is 100% bad. There were good times, whether or not the narcissist's intentions were real.

Truly healing from a narcissist takes effort, as with anything. But the steps you can slowly gain proficiency in are fundamentally simple. What you have to watch out for is how we'll always talk ourselves out of it.

Ask yourself: How do you want to see your future self—do you want to respect this person, or would you like to see them calcified into a worse version of what they are today? And then ask yourself: What legacy would you like to leave behind? By healing, you inspire the people around you, your future generations, and other survivors of narcissistic abuse to believe that they have a future. 

We can choose to whitewash our past by pretending it doesn't exist, but secrets make us sick. Instead, I choose to live by this—I want my past to pay dividends, and I want my demons to work for me.