Do you feel that your spouse is verbally and emotionally abusive? Are there high conflict fights and toxic relationship behaviors in your marriage? Do you feel stuck in a trauma bond? Are you not getting any support from your spouse? Are you feeling that something needs to change for your marriage to get better? Is your romantic relationship tense, frustrating, and challenging? Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples is a speciality at Wisdom Within Counseling. After narcissistic abuse, you may feel hurt, sad, alone, defeated, worthless, helpless, powerless, confused, and depleted.
Any gender, age, race, nationality, and ethnicity may demonstrate narcissistic abuse behavior. Women, men, transgender people, non-binary people, queer people, straight couples, homosexual couples, and polyamorous couples can all get stuck in toxic relationship behaviors.
Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults helps you stay calm rather than reacting to emotional abuse and manipulation tactics.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for therapy to recover from narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse.
What does emotional abuse from a spouse look like?
When you have a narcissistic spouse, you may be suffering from emotional abuse. Emotional and verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Gaslighting, criticism, crazy making, fear tactics, explosive anger, lying, love bombing, and manipulation are narcissistic tactics. Even if your narcissistic spouse has not physically put their hands on you, you may feel very hurt from their abusive words. You may have found yourself accepting responsibility for your spouse’s abusive behaviors that are not actually your fault.
Explosive anger outbursts are common in narcissistic spouses
Emotional abuse can appear as explosive anger outburst. Your narcissistic spouse might seem calm in one moment and angry in a split second. It feels like they are two different people. Sometimes, they are sweet and kind. But, other times, they are threatening and aggressive in their communication. When your narcissistic spouse gets angry, they seem out of control.
Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults can provide anger management skills
It seems like they have steam coming out of their ears when they are angry. As a spouse, you do everything in your power to keep the house peaceful. Even with all of your efforts, your narcissistic spouse still screams and yells. You want them to act is more respectful and loving ways towards you. When your narcissistic spouse has explosive, anger outburst, you and your children feel scared. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults can help stop the high conflict fight cycle.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for therapy to recover from narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse.
It doesn’t feel like you are safe at home when your narcissistic spouse is exploding in anger.
The cycle of narcissistic abuse is challenging because there is no real sense of security. Sometimes, they are kind and caring. Other moments, they have a very dark side. You might believe in a state of high, anxiety, fight, flight, or freeze. And, you frequently walk on eggshells at home.
Lying and cheating behaviors are common in narcissistic spouses
As well, lying and cheating are forms of emotional abuse. When your narcissistic spouse is being dishonest, this can make you feel like you are going crazy. It is hard to trust them. At times, you feel suspicious of future lies and dishonest behaviors. You might have suspicions that your spouse is being unfaithful or cheating on you. A narcissistic person may have a pattern of lying their whole life.
When you talk to your narcissistic spouse about hurtful infidelity behaviors, they deny them. Even though you may have found evidence of cheating, they make you feel crazy. You may have found your spouse cheating in the past and wonder if these behaviors are going on again. Narcissistic people are self-centered and selfish. The team at Wisdom Within Counseling can be your cheerleader and encourage you to set boundaries.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and help breaking toxic relationship conflicts.
A narcissistic spouse may lie and cheat in order to gain pleasure and power for themselves.
A narcissistic spouse may lie about credit card debt or a gambling addiction. And, a narcissistic person may lie about affairs, cheating, and infidelity. If you have found your narcissistic spouse lying and cheating, you may feel upset, angry, betrayed, or jealous. In addition to deceitful and lying behaviors, you may be experiencing other forms of emotional abuse.
Alcoholism, addiction and drug use
Narcissistic people may suffer from other addiction, issues and alcoholism. Your narcissistic spouse may also struggle with knowing their limits when it comes to alcohol. A narcissistic may think they can drink more and not have any consequences.
When alcohol is involved, your narcissistic spouse may be even more angry and explosive. It might be easier to find yourself yelling back once you have both been drinking alcohol.
Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults supports positive coping strategies rather than alcohol, drugs, or numbing out
Alcoholics also need alcohol to stay calm. Or, your narcissistic spouse needs alcohol to remain calm. If they don’t have their drugs or alcohol, they may become explosive or angry with you. You might be tip toeing around your emotionally explosive spouse. As well, you might be caught in a cycle of asking your alcoholic spouse to drink less. You might be finding alcohol hidden around your house. When you talk to your spouse their alcoholic use, they deny having a problem.
Alcoholism, addiction, and drug use are common in narcissistic people. Drug use and alcoholism can make a narcissistic person feel more powerful than they already are. Also, a narcissist may use drugs and alcohol to feel more socially confident. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults can help you both cope in positive ways. Healthy communication skills are just one benefit of Narcissistic abuse therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for therapy to recover from narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse.
To note, narcissistic people are always looking for sense of control and power. Drugs and alcohol may have a negative affect on your marriage as well.
You may find that you and your spouse get into more conflicts when drugs or alcohol are involved.
Working with a therapist who specializes in narcissistic abuse can help you find healthier coping tools. Instead of turning to alcoholism, or an addiction yourself, you can learn how to cope with the emotional abuse you are experiencing in healthier ways.
When you are experiencing narcissistic abuse from a spouse, your marriage may feel lonely.
As a victim of narcissistic abuse from your spouse, you may feel confused. Due to gaslighting and crazy making behaviors, you may begin to question your experiences. You may feel self-doubt and question what you know about love. Working with a narcissistic abuse specialist at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you reconnect o to your intuitive knowledge.
You can learn about narcissistic abuse tactics and toxic relationship behaviors. When you are living with a narcissist, you may question your own sanity. It is common for victims of narcissistic abuse to struggle with intrusive, self-critical, negative thoughts. You may feel angry, tense, anxious, or irritable most of the time.
As well, victims of narcissistic abuse may have trouble making decisions. Victims of narcissistic abuse may be overly forgiving and get stuck in a caretaking role. Therapy for narcissistic abuse can help victims to stop enabling narcissistic abuse by being too forgiving.
Due to years of narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse, you may always be making excuses.
You might try to analyze and figure out why you are being teated in abusive ways. A part of you may feel sorry for your narcissistic spouse. As well, counseling for narcissistic abuse can help you learn to deserve to be valued. Learning that you deserve respect is a big part of counseling. Right now, you might feel trapped and even be rationalizing your narcissistic spouse’s abusive behavior.
More often that not, victims of emotional abuse feeling guilty for the abuse. Instead of feeling guilty, you can learn how to let go of guilt. It is never your fault when your spouse is emotionally abusive to you in your marriage. Counseling for narcissistic abuse can help you identify how your spouse’s behaviors that are not your fault. Victims of narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse can gain confidence. You can learn that it is your spouse’s responsibility to change the way they treat you. Sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse is not your fault. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults can help you let go of negative, limiting beliefs.
Gaslighting and crazy making are common emotional abuse tactics
Furthermore, gaslighting and crazy making are forms of narcissistic abuse and manipulation. Your spouse, who is narcissistic, may or may not be doing these consciously.
At times, gaslighting and crazy making behaviors are often learned from narcissistic parents. Your spouse may have grown up in a home where their emotions were invalidated by their own narcissistic parents. Additionally, your spouse may have been emotionally abused by their own parents. Your spouse may have learned of these emotionally abusive behaviors were normal. Growing up with childhood emotional abuse, your spouse’s parents harmed them emotionally.
With that said, when you experience gaslighting and crazy making in your marriage, you may feel confused. Crazy making tactics, from a narcissistic spouse, cause you high levels of anxiety. When you are trying to focus, you may have concentration issues. You may doubt yourself and doubt your reality from gaslighting. To add, a narcissistic spouse wants you to see them as your hero. You may feel torn, conflicted, and suffer from inner conflict.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and help breaking toxic relationship conflicts.
Gaslighting and crazy making behaviors are forms of the manipulation and tactics to make a victim feel powerless.
Let’s say you want to talk to your narcissistic spouse about some of their negative behaviors. They will gaslight you into thinking that you are the one with the problem. To add, a narcissistic spouse might tell you that you are “too crazy.” Your narcissistic spouse may say that you are, “too sensitive.” A narcissistic spouse will often blame you for having the emotions that are perfectly normal for a given situation.
Gaslighting and crazy making behaviors can create a trauma bond in your marriage. Gaslighting and crazy making manipulation tactics make a victim feel low in self-esteem. These emotional abuse tactics build, self-doubt and make a victim rely more on their narcissistic spouse. Also, a narcissistic spouse might try to alter your reality with crazy making tactics. The stories they tell make themselves the hero. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults helps you truly see gaslighting and crazy making tactics.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for therapy to recover from narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse.
Blame the victim tactics and lack of ownership
Instead of taking accountability for their mistakes, they will push the blame on you.
Your narcissistic spouse struggles to take accountability for their mistakes. In a healthy relationship, when a problem occurs, it is usually a mixture of both people making an error. Couples therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling supports partners in taking ownership for their faults and accept their influences.
In a misunderstanding, a narcissistic person will always put all the blame onto their victim. Blaming the victim tactics can make it very difficult to build a secure marriage.
Individual and couples counseling can help you both gain tools to start an emotionally supportive bond.
As well, marriage therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling with your narcissistic spouse can help them take responsibility instead of blaming you. The team of therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling specialize in working with victims of narcissistic abuse and their narcissistic spouse. Plus, part of therapy for recovering from narcissistic abuse can be helping your spouse identify how their own parents were narcissistic. You spouse can look at their dysfunctional, emotionally abusive childhood and upbringing. When your narcissistic spouse gains awareness of their childhood, they can start to look at the root cause of narcissistic behaviors. From counseling, your narcissistic and emotionally abusive spouse can gain anger management skills. Your narcissistic spouse can learn healthier ways of communicating their needs, insecurities, and understand emotional intimacy.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and help breaking toxic relationship conflicts.
A victim of narcissistic abuse may struggle with self-hatred as a result of the blame pushed on them.
When your narcissistic spouse lack the ability to take ownership, it can make it very difficult to grow together. You might want to gain healthy communication skills from counseling. Working with the therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you both tools for overcoming toxic relationship tactics. Many times, high conflict cycles are rooted in watching caregivers demonstrate these abusive behaviors.
The team at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you vocalize your marital goals. Not everyone choose to separate and divorce a narcissistic spouse. When you want to stay together, you and your spouse can learn healthy communication skills in couples therapy. You can start to understand the cycle of emotional abuse and how you may be trauma bonded.
One of your goals for counseling might be to understand your triggers. As well, counseling can help your partner understand their triggers too. Your partner may not understand they are getting trigger or even be aware of themselves right now. The team at Wisdom Within Counseling specialize in helping couples break cycles of toxic high conflict fights and emotional abuse.
Narcissistic manipulation tactics can damage self-esteem
As a victim of narcissistic abuse, you may doubt your own abilities. You may have lost touch with yourself. When your spouse is always criticizing you or putting you down, you may need self-esteem tools from counseling. Working with the team at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you thrive and be resilient.
Your therapist, who specializes in narcissistic abuse, can help you speak positively to yourself. Sometimes, victims of emotional abuse have a negative internal dialogue. For example, you may call yourself, “stupid,” and beat yourself up emotionally. You can identify positive statements to say to yourself when anxious thoughts enter your mind. Working with a narcissistic abuse specialist at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you gain positive self-talk skills.
At Wisdom Within Counseling, you can learn how to be your own supported and believe in yourself. When your narcissistic spouse tries blaming or criticizing you, therapy can help you break the cycle of toxic high conflict fights. Likewise, counseling can help you step away from being a victim of emotional abuse, and learn you are a strong survivor.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for therapy to recover from narcissistic abuse and emotional abuse.
What are the impacts of verbal and emotional abuse from a spouse?
High levels of anxiety, obsessive thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, nervousness, and even anger are common symptoms of traumatic abuse. When you are in a toxic relationship, you might feel unstable.
Due to your spouse breaking you down and building you back up again, you might feel unsure of yourself. It is common for victims of narcissistic abuse to withdraw socially.
A narcissist wants to isolate you from your support network. As well, you may start to develop social anxiety and feel like you can’t go anywhere unless you are with your narcissistic spouse.
You might quit your job, which isolates you even more. As well, you might find it difficult to keep commitments or make plans with your friends after having been in a toxic relationship. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults at Wisdom Within Counseling supports social confidence. After narcissistic abuse, you may need encouragement to make healthier friends.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is common when you are married to a spouse with narcissistic personality disorder
Symptoms of narcissistic abuse from a spouse
- PTSD flashbacks to memories of high conflict fights
- Anger, sadness, grief, and irritability
- Grief, loneliness, and emotional disconnection
- Numbing and self-sabotaging behaviors
- Anxiety, self-doubt and depression
- Low self-worth and poor self-esteem
- Feelings of intense self-blame, guilt, shame, or failure
- Trouble concentrating and low motivation
- Walking on eggshells around your spouse
- Mind body disconnection and disassociation
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and help breaking toxic relationship conflicts.
You might be reaching out to work with a narcissistic abuse specialist because you want to become stronger.
Being in a relationship with an emotionally abusive person can leave you feeling very low in your self-worth. By working with a therapist who specializes in narcissistic behaviors, you can learn to gain emotional resilience and strength.
In a relationship with a narcissist, you may have felt broken down. They may have belittled and criticized you. Then, the narcissist tries to build you back up. The cycle of abuse is very traumatic. You may have memories and PTSD flashbacks of your spouse, breaking you down and building you back up again. Positive coping skills from counseling, and help you learn to live a better life. You can start to attract healthier and more authentic relationships in your life.
The therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling have extensive training and knowledge regarding the pain of narcissistic behaviors. When your spouse or romantic partner is causing you emotional pain, it can feel like your whole life is chaotic.
Counseling for narcissistic abuse can help you identify other unhealthy, toxic relationships in your life
In addition to having a narcissistic spouse, you may find that you have other people in your life exhibiting narcissistic behaviors. Do you feel emotionally drained after talking to a parent or sibling? Are you giving, giving, and giving more without the person giving back? Your own parents may have treated you an emotionally abusive ways. Identifying emotional abuse that your parents did to you can be part of counseling. You may feel shame and guilt about having emotionally immature parents. As well, you may be self-conscious about your emotionally abusive upbringing.
Counseling can help you free yourself from shame and guilt from having narcissistic, emotionally abusive parents
Learning about your abusive parents and dysfunction upbringing can help you heal. To note, having a dysfunctional childhood grooms you to take unhealthy treatment from others. Having an abusive childhood can lead to dysfunctional romantic relationships in adulthood. Because you were raised by emotionally abusive parents, you may be more likely to find a narcissistic, abusive partner more familiar. Human find what is familiar to us to appear safer, even if what seems familiar is abusive or unhealthy.
As well, your siblings might be using narcissistic behaviors with you.
You may find yourself in multiple friendships that are emotionally abusive. A friend may take advantage of you repeatedly, and you feel walked all over. You may identify with being a door mat, and lack confidence. When you try to set a boundary, you feel guilty for setting it.
Maybe, your work environment is toxic. The relationship you have with your boss or employer may be emotionally abusive. After a toxic romantic relationship, you may be stuck in the victim role where people treat you poorly.
From working with a therapist who specializes in narcissistic behaviors, you can learn to identify red flags in all your relationships.
The next time you encounter someone with narcissistic personality disorder, you can have a sense of inner strength. Rather than feeling like you need to please the narcissist, you can take back your power. As well, you may feel you need the narcissistic person in your life. From counseling, you can learn to let them go if that is the path you want to take. From counseling for narcissistic abuse, you can learn to separate yourself and set boundaries with people that treat you disrespectfully.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling and positive coping tools for complex trauma.
Narcissistic people are great at putting on a fake, charismatic mask
Often times, in the beginning of a relationship with a narcissist, they do not show their true colors. Notably, narcissistic people are chivalrous and charismatic. A narcissistic person will complement you and encourage you. But, after a few months or years, you notice toxic, emotionally unstable, and narcissistic behaviors.
Grief and loss are part of meeting with a narcissistic abuse counseling specialist
Living with a narcissist can be challenging, heartbreaking, and a process of grief. You can talk with your narcissistic abuse therapist about the marriage you thought you would be building. Parts of you may feel defeated emotionally. You keep trying to make the relationship better. But, if the narcissistic person won’t act as a teammate, it can be very sad. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults at Wisdom Within Counseling supports relating in healthier ways. Your old relationship patterns don’t have to define you any longer.
As well, your narcissistic abuse therapist can be a sounding board to hear about the story of abuse that you have been through. You can talk about the various events that trigger anger, anxiety, and grief. And, you can vocalize the painful experiences that your narcissistic spouse has put you through. At Wisdom Within Counseling, your narcissistic abuse specialist can validate your feelings. It is very emotionally painful being in a relationship with a narcissist.
Gain confidence and clarity from working with a narcissistic abuse specialist and therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling
In counseling, you can also learn to set boundaries. You can set boundaries with other narcissistic people in your life, such as siblings, friends, or parents.
It might be hard to see a future with your spouse based on how they are treating you. You might even be questioning if your marriage is still viable. Counseling can help you gain clarity when you are considering divorce from your narcissistic spouse.
Connect to your intuitive wisdom through narcissistic abuse counseling
Working with the team of therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling can give you confidence and clarity. You can learn to overcome trauma symptoms using positive coping tools. As well, you can reconnect with your intuition and inner wisdom. After emotional trauma and abuse, you may have shut down your intuitive inner guide. From narcissistic abuse counseling, you can gain a sense of self assurance.
Learning to listen to your gut instinct is key in healing from emotional abuse.
From working with a complex trauma therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling, you can realize you don’t need to stay in relationships that no longer serve you. When narcissistic people treat you poorly, you can take back your power. You can start to learn that the narcissist in your life will always want you to need them. Lastly, you can make confident decisions for yourself from narcissistic abuse counseling. You can tune in to understanding what is good for you, rather than putting yourself last. You don’t have to let people use you as a door mat or take advantage of you any longer. Narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and adults supports healthy boundaries.
To begin, click below for a phone consult for narcissistic abuse counseling for couples and help breaking toxic relationship conflicts.
Holistic, mind-body therapies can offer you relief after narcissistic abuse.
At Wisdom Within Counseling, we specialize in helping you reconnect with your mind and body. After trauma, you may experience, disassociation, self sabotaging, behaviors, and find yourself in dysfunctional relationships. Using expressive art therapies, yoga, music, and outdoor walking therapies can help you feel confident in yourself again.
Art, yoga, music, and walking therapies support complex trauma coping tools
For instance, going for a walk by the beach in Southeastern Connecticut can relieve anxiety. You can smell the salty, ocean air. Going outside for a walk and talk session can be a mindfulness experience.
Additionally, your therapist can guide you in body scans and mindfulness meditation. Learning about meditation can help you get in touch with yourself. When you are doing a meditation, you get to listen to your breathing, and feel the sensations in the present moment. So often, after trauma, the mind gets stuck in the past in the future. Learning mindfulness meditation can help you take back your power. You can learn to bring your mind into the present moment and do grounding techniques through therapy. It might be really common for you to have panic attacks or anxiety attacks. More so, mindfulness meditation can be a positive coping strategy that you can use outside of counseling.
When you are suffering from a panic attack, meditation can be a lifelong coping tool.
To begin, click below for a phone consult to start healing from narcissistic abuse from your spouse with holistic, mind body therapies.
Learning how to regulate your nervous system and breathe deeply are benefits of complex trauma counseling.
Additionally, you can use watercolors, art, clay, and even acrylic paints to release complex trauma. Painting and using clay can allow your mind to release in a way beyond words. Talking can be very helpful. However, using colors and different types of art materials can help you have a language beyond just talking. You might be surprised about how good you feel after a session when you have used art materials or painting to release emotions. Plus, you don’t have to be a perfect artist to take part in expressive art therapy for trauma.
These creative, mind-body therapies allow you to reconnect with yourself, your mind, body, and your spirit.
Whether you are meeting in person in southeastern, Connecticut, on video in Florida, or anywhere else, we can offer creative and holistic therapies.
You can start to treat yourself as a whole person, and start to reconnect to your intuitive wisdom.
We also offer music therapy and a variety of musical instruments. You and your therapist might write a song together on the guitar. As well, you might use a drum to release anger. You might like to feel the vibration of the drum throughout your entire body in a counseling session. The somatic, holistic therapies allow you to get back in touch with your body and your mind.
When it comes to healing from complex trauma, mind-body therapies are very effective. If you have experienced emotional trauma, or have found yourself in a toxic relationship, the team at Wisdom Within Counseling would love to help you. You can learn to create a better life for yourself. From trauma counseling, you can gain confidence and clarity after having a narcissistic spouse.
The team at Wisdom Within Counseling specialize in helping adults and couples break cycles of toxic high conflict fights and emotional abuse.
