While narcissistic personality disorder, sometimes known as NPD, is treatable, recovery requires patience and time. If a loved one suffers from this condition, encouraging them to seek professional treatment is the most effective way to help them begin to overcome its damaging effects.
Be there for them
Try not to make them feel judged and don't blame them for having stayed or staying in the relationship. Someone recovering from narcissistic abuse will most likely have trust issues, explains Tzall. Try to be their safe haven, providing a place where they can go to feel safe and secure.
Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder is talk therapy, also called psychotherapy. Medicines may be included in your treatment if you have other mental health conditions, such as depression.
The reality is that narcissists are very resistant to change, so the true question you must ask yourself is whether you can live like this indefinitely. Focus on your own dreams. Instead of losing yourself in the narcissist's delusions, focus on the things you want for yourself. What do you want to change in your life?
Narcissistic tendencies can improve with treatment, though this requires a lot of time, effort, and patience. If you decide to maintain a relationship with someone with NPD during treatment, it's important to set realistic expectations and healthy boundaries.
Narcissists may show you love and act in loving ways, but this tends to be conditional, in that displays of love depend on what you can give them in return. For people with NPD, relationships tend to be transactional. Love is not self-serving, proud, boastful, exploitative, or envious.
Many people naively believe that they can cure the narcissist by engulfing him with love, acceptance, compassion and empathy. This is not so. The only time a transformative healing process occurs is when the narcissist experiences a severe narcissistic injury, a life crisis.
A narcissistic personality disorder is not curable. However, narcissists can receive therapy to help them lead happier and more fulfilled lives. Many people diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder do not see their behavior as problematic. This belief often makes treatment less likely.
Narcissistic personality disorder may be linked to: Environment — parent-child relationships with either too much adoration or too much criticism that don't match the child's actual experiences and achievements. Genetics — inherited characteristics, such as certain personality traits.
Despite the differences between individuals, most of the participants who responded to researchers' questions again at age 41 saw a decline in narcissism as they matured, the researchers found.
A true narcissist is unlikely to become an empathic and selfless individual. However, if a narcissist believes their behavior is harmful to others and themselves, wants to change, and is willing to actively participate in therapy, some change can occur.
Living with a narcissist may feel difficult, but it's possible to preserve your well-being with strong boundaries, a solid support network, and a therapist who's informed on narcissism. You may also find it useful to attend a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) family support group in your area.
Personality disorders, including NPD, are notoriously challenging to treat. This challenge is even greater when individuals do not identify with having a problem. That said, with intention, effort, and dedicated commitment, it is possible for a narcissist to change.
Here are some narcissism red flags to look out for: Lacking empathy. They seem unable or unwilling to have empathy for others, and they appear to have no desire for emotional intimacy. Unrealistic sense of entitlement.
Narcissism tends to emerge as a psychological defence in response to excessive levels of parental criticism, abuse or neglect in early life. Narcissistic personalities tend to be formed by emotional injury as a result of overwhelming shame, loss or deprivation during childhood.
Social learning theory holds that children are likely to grow up to be narcissistic when their parents overvalue them: when their parents see them as more special and more entitled than other children (9).
Everyday narcissists are status-oriented and motivated to pursue goals like fame and financial wealth that either enhance their social status or demonstrate their superiority to others.
Narcissists are attracted to dynamic and appealing partners, individuals who appear as if they have high self-esteem but who also have a "pocket" or two of low self-esteem.
The short answer is a simple “no.” It is actually highly unlikely that your narcissistic partner is even capable of real love, let alone feels it towards you past the beginning of your relationship.
If a narcissist is interested in you, you might notice that they shower you with admiration and attention shortly after you meet them. They might be quick to say “I love you,” put you on a pedestal, and make grand romantic gestures.
A lack of empathy can also lead to antisocial behavior like physical abuse and crime. One study by Erica Hepper, Claire Hart, and Constantine Sedikides published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that narcissists can learn to be empathetic.