Recognize narcissism through your own symptoms

Symptom list

Somatic complaints
Many victims experience physical symptoms, such as fatigue or physical stress reactions (headaches, nausea, etc.) Sleep problems are also common.

Hypersensitivity
You may become hypersensitive to light, sound and other sensory sensations. Many victims can no longer tolerate many stimuli and become irritated at the slightest thing.

Grinding streams of thought
People with narcissism and psychopathy cause those around them to become totally confused. Namely, you try to understand what is happening and grind about it. You are condemned to eternal despair.

No more sense of reality
This serious symptom stems from “gaslighting,” covered on this website. Your sense of reality has crumbled and you may think you need to go to an institution.

Not understanding yourself anymore
Narcissists and psychopaths intervene in your thinking and feeling processes. They try to make you see everything from their perspective. …. Narcissists and psychopaths succeed in playing their victim against themselves.

Alienated from yourself and everyone else
Some victims become so numb that nothing matters to them anymore. They feel alienated from the whole world. They no longer belong anywhere, sitting out their days because they can no longer feel who they are and what they want. They have become a stranger to themselves.

Distrust
According to the narcissist, everything was up to you. She just wanted to be able to carry out her destruction undisturbed, and if you dared to protest this, you were mean. It makes sense that you can hardly trust others anymore. Narcissists and psychopaths, in particular, use words to do their destructive work. Many victims can no longer just listen to someone, but are always alert to what the other person is really saying.

Guilt
Narcissists make you feel responsible for everything. Many victims talk in an apologetic way “yeah, I don’t know hear…but I hope you don’t mind that…'”. They have learned to say sorry in advance. It is important to recognize that this sense of guilt or responsibility has been forced upon you.

Pursuit delusions
Being paranoid is a common symptom that scares many victims. However, it says nothing about yourself. It says something about how far the narcissist crossed your boundaries, how much control he had and tried to have, and how threatened you felt. It’s her pathology, which made you very nervous. That makes perfect sense.

Shame
Shame is the most common symptom in this form of abuse. You are going to see yourself through the eyes of another, and that is exactly the intention. …Narcissists and psychopaths are masters of putting the cause of their abuse on the victim as well. “You shouldn’t have said this or that, you shouldn’t have looked like that, that’s why I have to swear at you,” et cetera. Thus they reinforce shame, and they know it. It is their total lack of self-awareness and empathy that brings about their blatant behavior.

Severe depression
Narcissistic abuse can undermine you so much that you lose your meaning in life. Thoughts of suicide are common; some victims actually commit suicide.

Thinking that no one else can love you anymore
Almost every victim also knows this feeling. It is a consequence of the extolling and discarding that a narcissist does to you. This is part of the abuse.

Paralyzed feeling
Narcissistic abuse causes you to be “paralyzed.” You were robbed of your vitality, the sparkle you had in you.

Not being able to express yourself spontaneously anymore
Narcissists and psychopaths charged you with everything. If you didn’t mirror the right thing, it was taken as a rejection. This makes you think about all your communications (“Is this possible? Isn’t this mean? Do I look nice enough? Am I not exaggerating now?”) You don’t actually know how to, “just” interact with people anymore.

Disturbances in emotions
Both extremes occur: either you don’t feel anything anymore, or you have intense emotions every so often. These forms can also alternate.

Dissociation
Dissociation is common among victims but often goes unrecognized.

Unable to function normally anymore
Psychopaths and narcissists interfere with your development and functioning. Several victims testify to how they functioned at a high level before the relationship, and struggled with even the simplest things during and after the relationship. You often cannot think clearly and have a wimpy feeling in your head.

Dependency
Many victims become a shadow of the person they once were. Perpetual self-doubt and other symptoms make you feel like you can no longer cope with life on your own. You feel very dependent on the opinion and approval of others