Side Effects of Living with a Narcissist
Spoiler alert: There is no upside
Living with a narcissist plays out like a bad drug commercial:
Side effects may include anxiety, confusion, depression, body aches, nausea, digestive problems, panic attacks, insomnia, fatigue, personality changes, brain fog, low self-esteem, mental instability, personality changes, suicidal thoughts, Complex PTSD…
The reason is actually quite simple: Anytime you put together a person who is self-serving, whose intent is to control and manipulate others, and who has no empathy, with a person who has empathy for days, who puts the needs of others ahead of themselves, and who has a forgiving nature, trouble is bound to arise.
Not trouble for the narcissist, mind you.
But boatloads of trouble for those who are living with and loving one.
Here’s why:
When you live with a narcissist, you live with uncertainty.
There is always that feeling of “Am I missing something here?” Things don’t add up. Just when you think you’ve got a narcissist pegged, just when you think you finally understand them, something happens to make you question everything. You spend a lot of time confused and trying to play catch-up.
