It’s hard to cultivate a genuine, loving connection with someone who consistently makes everything about themselves. As you pointed out, relationships with individuals who have Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) can often involve ongoing emotional and psychological abuse—forms of domestic violence. However, if you find yourself in a relationship with someone who merely displays narcissistic tendencies, there’s still hope.
For these relationships to endure, the partner needs strong self-esteem, patience, an even-tempered personality, and a reason to stay. The narcissist often values certain resources—like admiration or attention—which can shape the dynamic. Over time, maintaining your self-esteem will require reinforcement from other parts of your life, such as work or friendships.
Success will also depend on your partner’s ability to respond constructively to your feedback. While they may not show empathy or understanding right away, if they can eventually acknowledge your concerns, it offers hope for growth.
However, if they’re unable or unwilling to accept your concerns, the relationship risks becoming unbalanced and emotionally draining—a dynamic that’s likely to deteriorate over time.
To get to a more balanced arrangement in your relationship, professional counseling can be important. You need to understand the basis for the apparent self-focus and insensitivity of your partner. While these things can come about for a whole range of reasons, they could also shift with some focused work with a therapist.
I involved myself with support group as part of our family philanthropy effort where we tackle lots of issues and one of those is people with NPDs.
You have to find a good buddy on this one, someone who listened and support you.
I had listened to LBFH and healing is crucial for you to make everything to work and eventually you will be able to managed NPDs.
You need to take note that healing is not a one time process.
