PTSD From Emotionally Abusive Relationship ~ Part 1

PTSD from emotionally abusive relationship is a real thing. PTSD can affect people long after the narcissist is out of their lives.

Many people fail to understand about PTSD is that it is not just something associated with soldiers who have been through a war.

It can also develop in people who have been in emotionally abusive relationships.

It has been proven that children who grow up in narcissistic toxic households have the same brain scans as soldiers who have been in active warfare.

Living with a narcissistic person is like living in a war. You have to continually watch your every step so as not to make that partner “blow up.”

They literally are like minefields. One wrong step and…BOOM!

Living on edge can cause your psychological foundation to crack. And for many people who have left their narcissists, years after, they can still suffer from what the narc had done to them.

PTSD is a real experience that affects many people who have been hurt by their narcissistic partner.

In this article, I will explain what PTSD is, the symptoms of PTSD, and I will also offer some ways for you to heal from PTSD.

Note: I am not a psychologist but a survivor, and a FIGHTER, of narcissistic abuse. If you find any of these articles helpful and know someone who may need to hear this, feel free to share it with them.

Note: This article includes affiliate links!

What Is PTSD?

PTSD, as defined by WebMD, is:

Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), once called shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome is a severe condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness, or horrors, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster.

What Causes PTSD?

There are several things that can cause PTSD in people who have been in relationships with narcissists. Narcissists are very good at psychological warfare.

And this is why living with a narc can be like living through a war. Narcissists have a strong desire to control and to DESTROY anything that they deem unimportant to them.

A narcissist destroys our psyche by:

• Gaslighting us
• Blame shifting
• Having their flying monkeys watch us (Gangstalking)
• Project their wrongs on us
• Physically assault us

A narcissists favorite pastime BLAME SHIFTING IS WHAT NARC’S DO BEST!

11 Symptoms Of PTSD From Emotional Abuse

Some of the symptoms of PTSD from emotionally abusive relationship are:

1. Recurring nightmares/ emotional flashbacks
2. Hypervigilant (Always looking for the worst things to happen)
3. Panic Attacks
4. Feelings Of Guilt and Shame
5. Feelings Of Anxiety
6. Depression
7. Suicidal Ideations
8. Insomnia
9. Negative Self Talk That Leads To Self Hatred
10. Becoming Emotionally Numb
11. Agoraphobia

Recurring Nightmares

Waking up having night terrors because of the violent, abusive relationship is common. This is why I associate living with narcissists as living through a warzone.

These night terrors that many survivors go through and the emotional flashbacks (things that trigger us and bring us back to those bad times) are common in many people who leave their narcissistic toxic partner.

Many partners who have developed ptsd from abusive marriage and even after divorce still have these toxic ruminating invasive thoughts.

Hypervigilant: PTSD From Emotionally Abusive Relationship

Being hypervigilant, looking for the worst in everyone you see and come across in life, is also one of the symptoms of PTSD from emotional abuse.

Seeing insults where there are none is common. Seeing attacks where there aren’t any attacks is because of all the abuse that a person has been through.

They have been so conditioned to see threats everywhere that it can be very difficult to reach these people.

And this is easily one of the saddest symptoms because narcissists conditioned so many people to think EVERYONE is against them.

Which is what they want.

And because they know how to smear campaign and play the victim, they come out looking like the good guy, while we are the bad guys.

It is not uncommon for someone to develop something called reactive aggression.

Panic Attacks

This comes in relation to the last symptom. Because so many of us become hypervigilant, we see threats EVERY WHERE, and this, in effect, pushes us to develop a panic attack.

End part 1