Narcissistic abuse is a form of emotional abuse that a victim might have to experience while being in a relationship with the abuser. The narcissistic abuser usually cares only about himself and can manipulate you through words and actions.
There are various impacts of narcissistic abuse on the victim, and these impacts can range from mild to severe. Let’s talk about a few effects of narcissistic abuse on the people experiencing narcissistic abuse victim syndrome
Increased Levels of Anxiety
Many victims experiencing narcissistic abuse syndrome might have to live with a high level of anxiety. After living for a long time with a narcissist, the victim can experience extreme fear and live in tension.
The anxiety can be separation anxiety, leading them to have panic attacks when they are not around the abusers. If you are a narcissistic victim and experience symptoms like anxiety, panic attack, and hypervigilance, you must visit a professional therapist. A therapist can help you reduce the symptoms over time, and you can efficiently work through your traumas over time.
High Level of Depression
As a narcissistic abuse victim, you might also show symptoms of post-traumatic stress. After experiencing abuse for so long, your brain will stay high alert and keep on looking out for danger. With the abusive and traumatic experience you have, you might develop a fight or flight response.
People who have experienced narcissistic abuse for a long time might also show symptoms of depression. Such people often feel worthless because of the months and years of abuse. They think of themselves as useless and stupid. Moreover, as the victims get manipulated by the abuser, the victim might consider it safe to isolate themselves. All of this can lead to a severe case of depression.
Stress After Years of Trauma
After surviving the narcissistic abuse, you might still experience an anxiety attack if the memories trigger. It will become your nature to be on guard 24/7 after experiencing abuse for numerous months and years.
Most survivors usually say that they never knew about the next move of their abuser. This state might make them struggle to relax and stress about every little thing.
Sense of Self-Love and Self-Worth Vanishes
After years of abuse, victims might feel completely lost and might not be able to handle any love for themselves. Narcissistic abusers abuse their victims in a way that they brainwash them and destroy their sense of self-worth.
Such people might not be able to feel like the person they were at the beginning of the relationship. There are some cases in which the victims might not be able to recognize themselves in the mirror. The reason might be that they cannot see their true reflection of themselves in the mirror.
They might also experience trust issues and might keep doubting others at their every move. In some cases, a person might feel that they are not good enough and might do something to start the abuse. It can make them feel embarrassed and stop them from reaching out for help.
Another problem that the victim might face is the trouble of decision-making. They might get confused while making simple decisions. Moreover, they might not be able to make the decisions at all.
Narcissistic Abuse Victims Might not be Able to Forgive Themselves
After prolonged exposure to narcissistic abuse, the victims might struggle with their feelings. They will feel unworthy of love and believe that they don’t deserve happiness. Moreover, they might think that something is wrong with them, and they might try to punish themselves cruelly.
Such people will feel that whatever they are experiencing in their life is because of them, and they will not be able to forgive themselves. Victims will have low self-esteem. They might think that their abuser is treating them just because they were wrong.
As victims, such people might also have trouble focusing on their life goals and dreams. Moreover, such people might feel that nothing good will ever happen in their life.
Physical Instability
After experiencing narcissistic abuse for so long, people might experience various physical symptoms. These symptoms might include headaches, body aches, stomach aches, etc. Moreover, these people might also feel difficulty sleeping after facing narcissistic abuse.
Such people might feel stressed about what happened to them, making it difficult to shut off their brains at night. Moreover, such people might also have nightmares that might lead to insomnia.
Narcissistic Abuse Victims Become Emotionally Unstable
After experiencing a traumatic event of narcissistic abuse, it is common for a person to suffer from mood swings. Moreover, the person might feel irritable all the time. Another impact on the victims can be that they think emotionless and become a robot.
Moreover, they can also feel depersonalized and might feel like everything around them is not accurate. Victims might also think that they should take revenge on their abusers. However, this hatred only makes them stressed and can increase their anxiety.
Narcissistic abuse Can hurt the Children
If you have children who are experiencing you becoming narcissistic abuse victims, they can get a severe impact from it. The first thing is that they can feel distressed. Moreover, the environment at home can affect their development and lead to mental problems like PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc.
Narcissistic Abuse Victim Might Feel Like Trapping in a Cycle
After experiencing abuse for so long, people often feel like getting trapped in the cycle. The reason is that an abuser might keep on contacting them even after divorce or the end of the relationship.
Bottom Line
After experiencing narcissistic abuse, you might experience yourself developing various effects. Moreover, you might also experience developing harmful coping mechanisms. You might become a people pleaser and might also develop self-destructive habits.
