This is on the extreme end of the spectrum. When the abuse is unbearable and unimaginable, it can totally alter how your brain functions.
Sometimes you see things as a consequence of terror. When you’re exposed to absolute terror, you hear things, feel things—now there’s a thin line between actually seeing what happened and seeing what isn’t there.
I don’t want to guess or minimize what you experienced—you experienced what you experienced. You didn’t make it up. If you’ve left the narcissist and you still hear his or her voice in the environment, even though they’re not there—or you see them, feel like they’re there when they’re not—that can be psychosis.
And with that comes paranoia. There’s always paranoia if there is psychosis in a narcissistic survivor: extreme fear of being targeted, attacked, or taken advantage of by other people. That’s why it becomes impossible for a survivor to trust again.
How do you heal psychosis induced by narcissistic abuse?
You need therapy and self-work. Trauma work is good—but sometimes you also need more help, including medication, especially if hallucinations are strong and you can actually feel them, see things, and experience things that aren’t around.
As I pointed out, there’s a thin line. What I was referring to is the “demonic” nature of a narcissist—revealed through their behavior. I don’t want to call you crazy. You’re not. If you’re living with the narcissist and you see their face contort, their eyes look wild—like there’s no one home—that experience may feel like psychosis, but it might not be.
Psychosis is something different: usually post-separation. It doesn’t go away, and it can be a vivid flashback that you keep having continuously.
If medication helps, it’s likely psychosis.
What about paranoia?
Paranoia is a normal response. Validate it first. Who wouldn’t feel afraid of trusting other people when the person you trusted the most betrayed you in the worst way imaginable?
Validating it is the first key. The second key is working on your betrayal wound, your betrayal trauma—so that you can start trusting yourself and then fully trust others.
4) Dissociative Disorders (Dissociation)
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