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Read MoreAn individual with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) often lacks empathy and seeks consistent admiration. This mindset significantly impacts the mental and emotional health of themselves and those around them.
If you or someone you love is experiencing narcissistic abuse, it’s important to reach out for help. The Sanctuary at Sedona offers help for narcissistic abuse and emphasizes the importance of recovery.
What Is a Narcissist?
A narcissist is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the surface, they are charming, charismatic, successful and a dream come true. All their friends and colleagues may admire them. They have an uncanny ability to sense and meet someone’s deepest unmet needs and know what they want to hear.
Eventually, this facade cracks, and Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde, the narcissist, can be cruel and lack empathy for others’ needs and feelings. The narcissist becomes verbally, emotionally, sexually or physically abusive and controlling, with a constant need to be right, be the center of attention and have their needs met at the expense of all others.
Understanding Narcissistic Abuse
Narcissistic abuse is an emotional form of abuse caused by someone with NPD. In general, narcissistic abusers feel the need to control and exploit others for power, attention or entitlement. They may frequently feel envious of others and believe they are more special than anyone else in their life.
The most painful aspect of being in a narcissistic relationship is how confusing it can be, as the narcissist may alternate between abuse and positive experiences to make the victim feel needed or special. This interaction is known as trauma bonding, which can make it challenging to recognize the abuse. If left untreated, this feeling can have long-term effects on your well-being, causing mental health conditions to develop.
Signs and Symptoms of Narcissistic Abuse
Narcissistic abuse can come in many different forms, varying from person to person. The type you may experience can greatly depend on the relationship you have with a narcissist. The signs of narcissistic abuse in victims can include emotional and psychological symptoms and overall behavioral changes, such as withdrawing from friends and family.
Some of the most common signs include:
- Love-bombing: Love-bombing is often found early in a friendship or relationship. They may shower you with expensive gifts or display their affection constantly to get you to trust them so they can ultimately control you.
- Gaslighting: Gaslighting is emotional manipulation that causes victims to doubt themselves. The abuser may pretend they don’t remember a certain event or accuse you of lying about what happened.
- Pushing boundaries: Someone with NPD needs to control a situation or people and may push or ignore your boundaries to do it. For example, they may constantly check your text messages, follow you around or isolate you to ensure you remain under their supervision.
- Blaming: Narcissistic individuals often project destructive behaviors and blame onto the victim. At the same time, they may nitpick your every move and convince you that everything you do is wrong.
- Exploiting: While earning your trust, narcissistic abusers will try to pull sensitive information from you. They may then use this in the future to exploit you and get you to do things you don’t want to do.
The Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Process
The first step to healing from narcissistic abuse is recognizing the abuse is going on. From here, you can seek professional help for how to break away from an abuser and regain your confidence.
Therapeutic approaches offer coping techniques and boundary advice when dealing with a narcissistic person in your life. Individual therapy options allow you to meet with a therapist one-on-one to discuss your situation and receive help in complete confidence. The most common approach in this environment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — a therapy that helps you process your experience, build healthy coping strategies and change negative thought patterns.
Group therapy can help individuals going through narcissistic abuse connect and share their stories. Connecting with others in a similar situation can be empowering and encouraging, enabling you to be there for each other. Additionally, having a support system within your family or group of friends is also important to find a safe space away from the narcissistic abuser.
Our Approach to Narcissistic Abuse Recovery
At The Sanctuary at Sedona, we offer a 15-day narcissistic abuse recovery program. Our experienced professionals will work with you to create a customized treatment plan to ensure your needs are met throughout the program. We have profiles on each of our therapists and counselors to match you with someone you feel you can best connect with.
In addition to individual and group therapy options, we incorporate wellness practices into our program. Together, we will help you utilize mechanisms like mindfulness and meditation to heal your mind, body, spirit and soul.
All sessions occur at our beautiful and secluded campus in Sedona, Arizona. The cost of our program is all-inclusive, incorporating your room, meals, therapy and other amenities in one comprehensive package. Ultimately, we want to ensure you feel comfortable here, offering plenty of space to heal.
Success Stories
The Sanctuary at Sedona is more than a rehabilitation center — we are a family. Throughout the years, we have helped clients around the world experience true and effective healing from their unique situations. We partner with you to provide narcissistic abuse treatment and tools for you to implement in your daily life.
We are grateful for the many client success stories that have emerged from our programs. Take a look at some of our clients’ personal experiences during their time with us.
Schedule a Consultation With The Sanctuary at Sedona Today
Healing from a narcissistic relationship is possible with The Sanctuary at Sedona. During your initial consultation, we want to hear your story and walk you through what a recovery process could look like. Our first meeting and the following sessions remain private for your safety.
Your mental, physical and spiritual health is our top priority. Reach out to our experts to schedule your consultation today.
