Could the effects of having been in a relationship with a narcissist last a lifetime?

Answer 1

To some degree, but not enough to ruin one's life. Each individual (victim) of a narcissist reacts differently to the narcissists months to years of control, dishonesty, disloyalty, abuse, etc. Sometimes mind games are actually worse than physical abuse because the wounds that mind games cause are not visible such as physical wounds. Neither are acceptable. If the victim of a narcissist is strong enough and lucky enough to get rid of their abusive partner then it will take some time to heal and this is where counseling comes in. This person has had years of being manipulated, those mind games and brain-washing playing upon them. It's going to take time to heal from this and for the victim to know just how much strength and control they really have inside of themselves so this type of relationship is never repeated again. Without counseling the victim never truly gets to know their own strengths and therefore a sense of freedom is seldom felt and may go through life mistrusting all men and have future failed relationships that should never have failed in the first place. Once free the victim of the narcissist may fear their partner will stalk them, bother them with phone calls, turn up at their place of work, talk to their friends to find out what the victim has been up too leaving the victim feeling smothered and frightened, never quite knowing how far the narcissist will go to regain control of their victim. The victim could have nightmares about their narcissistic ex partner, become reclusive in their own home, jump when the phone rings or someone knocks on the door. What the victim can do is get that counseling and read everything they can on how to get away and stay away from their narcissistic ex mate. They can encircle themselves with good friends (male/female) and if family is in the same town or city visit them as well. Eventually the victim will gain more power and self confidence and the narcissist will become just like an unpleasant memory of any sort, but it won't be enough to ruin one's life.