The Narcissistic Grief Paradox
Grief can be one of the most surprising parts of healing from narcissistic abuse—and one of the easiest to misunderstand. In this featured workshop from The Healing Program library, Dr. Ramani unpacks why grief can linger even after the relationship changes or ends, the forms it can take, and what may be keeping you emotionally tied to what you lost.
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DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL CARE. PLEASE CONSULT A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO YOUR CASE. THIS VIDEO DISCUSSES NARCISSISM IN GENERAL.
THE VIDEO DOES NOT REFER TO ANY SPECIFIC PERSON, AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO REFER TO ANY SPECIFIC PERSON, AS HAVING NARCISSISM. PERMISSION IS NOT GRANTED TO LINK TO OR REPOST THIS VIDEO, ESPECIALLY TO SUPPORT AN ALLEGATION THAT THE MAKERS OF THIS VIDEO BELIEVE, OR SUPPORT A CLAIM, THAT A SPECIFIC PERSON IS A NARCISSIST. THAT WOULD BE AN UNAUTHORIZED MISUSE OF THE VIDEO AND THE INFORMATION FEATURED IN IT.
While you GRIEVE,,,,, BREATHE! 🧘 You do heal! In with the GOOD air out with the BAD!
awh a 1hr video to feed my mind
THANK YOU for helping us
Is my opinión about my sitúation, i lose a lot, but unfurtunaly some people use to say, you aré in better sitúation thank others dont have a bed to sleep or legs to walk. I do understeand, but its a process having a life in all my conditions and feel happy or pretending that nothing Is happening and the unfair people still the same and i cant do anything about that. But if i stay away or have diferent choices, then im looking as the bad person. How i can be hipocritic with the world and feel happy about it? I dont like this world but i cant do anything about it. Thanks for sharing, peace and blessings to everyone 🙏
One of the final step of acceptance is that you realise that they will never change and you don’t need to change for them anymore.
We narcissists apparently have an incredible talent: every woman sees the red flags, falls for us anyway, and then somehow the entire story becomes our fault. I’m not saying we’re innocent… I’m just wondering when personal responsibility became so unfashionable
@bodegaSuperVEN Narcissists can be men or women and narcissism is not limited to men. Recent studies suggest that narcissism rates in men and women are nearly equal. And regarding the rest of your comment, any victim of narcissism, whether a man or a woman, cannot see the red flags easily especially if it is their first relationship.
Our society did not learn how to grieve, to take time and to stand the pain….
capitalism
Narcissists have *NO EMOTIONAL EMPATHY* whatsoever, lmao. I am constantly in awe of the mid-ranger’s resilience in secretly treating people like disposable objects while simultaneously publicly fooling everyone into believing they are these “deep” and “holier-than-thou empathic saviors” of the Universe. They are delusionally invulnerable in their quest for passive-aggressive control.
I cannot IMAGINE what life is like to not care about ANYONE but yourself. I am NOT “envious” of such a thought process, either 😂
I’ve had enough relationships to notice something uncomfortable: sometimes people see exactly who we are, fall in love with who they hope we’ll become, ignore the warning signs, and later blame us for not becoming the person they imagined. We narcissists have plenty to answer for… but so does the person who ignored reality
Fantastic content! This channel has been even better lately. Please, Please, Please be aware that there are accounts on youtube that are using Doctor Ramani’s face and voice in AI to read essays that aren’t necessarily Doctor Ramani’s things. Youtube doesn’t allow us to report these things because we are not the copyright holder. Only Doctor Ramani or whoever manages her account can copyright strike these accounts.
I lost faith in my ability to discern evil.
I was so severely trauma bonded that I kept wanting to go back with him. He was my high school sweetheart. We started at 15. We divorced at 45. I knew nothing else but him and he did a good number on me. I’ll tell you.
I’m currently grieving the relationship with my whole family – mom, dad and grandma. I can’t even describe the pain, it’s like you can’t breathe. But somehow at the same time healing means you can breathe freely.
One of the worst moments is actually the mix of both. One moment you’re happy that you finally figured out the abuse. And the next one you re devastated because it’s your parents. People who had to love you unconditionally.
It’s super painful transition. And I don’t know how or when it ends. I just know it will.
💜
You’re not alone. It helps me to know there are so many other people who have experienced this from their family of origin. It’s still super painful. I can so relate to being grateful for the knowledge and education yet the reality….
@joanharder2124💜
OMG! The chart for the overlap of grief and fallout is exactly what I needed to see today! Thank you for sharing this, Doc!
The saddest thing about narcisistic abuse is that it’s needless, makes no sense, occurs for no reason, and can permanently damage the victim’s sense of identity, self-worth, and ability to trust in others. I don’t have any mental- healthcare credentials, to be clear. However, I could write ten books about how it feels to be a victim of such abuse; and how difficult it can be to recover from. Victims of narcissistic abuse will often suffer for years, even long after the abusive relationship has ended. This kind of abuse has one sole purpose, which is to feed the narcissist’s need to feel; superior, dominant, and omnipotent by draining the victim of their mental, emotional, and often financial stability.
Narcissistic abuse is not just about someone “temporarily losing it” after a bad day. It’s not about stress or even dishonesty, falling out of love or cheating etc. Although narcisists may engage in such behaviors; not every cheating, dishonest, or even self-absorbed person is a narcissist. Not all batterers are necessarily narcissists ( although many probably are). Narcissism is like the worst possible behaviors towards others, multiplied by at least 10; then added to that is the narcissist’s inability to feel conpassion or empathy for others. Narcissistic Abuse is a calculated means of controlling someone else’s behaviors and thought processes via extreme mental, and emotional bullying and outright emotional blackmail; commonly (but not alway) accompanied by physical abuse. Narcissists will tell you the sky is red. If you disagree and say the sky is actually blue, they’ll tell you you’re crazy, stupid, and incapable of distinguishing different colors. When you go outside and point to the sky and say, “ The color of the sky is clearly blue”, the narcissist will respond with, “ Of course it is, that’s what I’ve been saying all along!” Do you see how insane this is? It would be quite hilarious if it weren’t for the fact that the entire purpose of an argument such as the one above, is to cause the victim to start questioning his or her own sanity. If the victim of such abuse doesn’t recognize what’s going on, they will slowly begin questioning their own judgement and sanity.
These techniques are also frequently used with gaslighting. Gaslighting is the act if purposefully confusing someone through circular, unending arguments; or may occur by moving or removing a victim’s objects such as keys, phone, other items- all in an effort to trick the person into thinking they’re going crazy. An example: “Where is my wallet? I know I put it in my purse last night. Now I don’t have my checkbook, cash, etc. I must be losing it!” Most people can’t imagine why someone would purposely cause such confusion and chaos for someone else, therefore never suspect the narcissist unless they’re caught. Even then, the narcissist will likely deny any accusations… The narcissist’s main goals- is to reap havok, chaos, and dysfunction into an otherwise mostly normal person’s life. What’s more, the perpetrator will purposefully cause the victim into a reaction, then use that reaction to gain support from their”flying monkeys”. These agents of narcissists are carefully picked, so that the narcissist’s view cannot be debated by an objective observer. This triangulation also causes the victim to further doubt or dismiss their own thoughts and feelings. Narcissistic abuse is complete and total psychological warfare against another human being.
The targeted person can be the NPD’s children, but is often the NPD’s spouse or significant other. Children of narcissists are also more likely to become narcissists themselves due to genetic and environmental factors. Or, they may have BPD or BPD tendencies. That’s not to say that ALL children of NPD’s have personality or mental-health disorders. Targets of those with NPD are usually very generous, often sensitive, and friendly people that have their lives at least somewhat together. NPD’S choose these kinds of people for a reason, because the reality is NPD’s are empty human beings full of self-hatred. They are inwardly chaotic, and this chaos often translates into either an extremely neat and tidy exterior facade or may manifest into complete disorder and mess. I don’t sympathize with those with NPD because they aren’t psychotic- they do know the difference between right and wrong. They just choose to do wrong, choose to purposely hurt others because it boosts their often very tiny, fragile egos. These are dangerous people, and the only difference between most of them and a common murderer is that they haven’t physically murdered anyone yet. Well, most of time.
If you’re dealing with a narcissist and suspect they’re cheating, don’t guess find out. You deserve the truth. Send a request to: MetaspyHub@gmail. com to get the evidence you need discreetly. Sometimes the closure comes with proof.
Very well said. Long response but you’ve done your homework 😊.
I suffered all my life with abuse by my sadistic, narcissistic mother. She is not even here anymore, gone for ten years, and I still suffer. It truly ruined my life.
I am so grateful that you mentioned having a child who has distanced themselves completely. For 20 years I was trying to fix something that wasn’t actually broken Or that was broken But it wasn’t my doing.
You have definitely helped me Thank you!
I lost who i was
When you move far away to stay safe from a stalking malignant narcissist, you lose everything you know. I’d already gone ‘no contact’ with my whole family, one by one over time. When I moved, I lost all my close friends and acquaintances. I lost all my favorite restaurants, my bank, my yoga class, my Zumba class, my 20-year roller-skating dance group, bar-b-que’s at the bay, in-person mental health support, beautiful weather in San Diego, familiar surroundings, jobs, stores, etc. But nothing was as hard for me as losing my two BELOVED adult children because of narcissism. The narcs did a great job turning them against me in their effective smear campaigns. Often the healthiest one is called the crazy one. I’ve had a lot of help and growth. So yes, a TON of grief. But what is more important than your physical, mental and emotional safety? It’s Number One.
You’re not alone. Your comment hit everything that I’m going through by going no contact after a 35 year marriage. No regrets. Time to heal.
Yes, have had those moments of maybe it’s me not them. The “ick list “ has helped remind me.
The grief is more painful than the actual abuse. Grief forces you to see the abuse for what it was, and what it means about the person who was supposed to love you. 💪 ❤
I have never agreed with screaming or hitting something to “release negative energy!” I have always felt negative begets negative. I feel that using negative energy to do something constructive turns it into something positive.
Yep. Multiple times screwed over in the work setting. I ‘m finally really limiting my time in this sector and old enough for early retirement. It’s a huge relief.
Thank you for this. I knew I was grieving for a good 3-4 months but I finally feel like I’m almost healed