What makes it so difficult to be in a relationship with a narcissist?
To the outside world you may live the perfect life, but behind closed doors it can be a very different picture. Interpersonal abuse tends to be linked with physical violence, but emotional warfare, while difficult to spot, can actually be more psychologically damaging. And yet despite your best efforts nothing seems to work to maintain those harmonious wonderful times you can experience with the narcissist. These relationships can be so confusing, frustrating and even dangerous. Narcissistic abuse in interpersonal relationships tends to follow a typical cycle of idealisation, devaluation, discarding, and hoovering.
What makes it hard to leave a narcissist: signs of being in a trauma bond
What Is Trauma Bonding?
A person can be trauma bonded to their partner if they struggle in their relationship, and or find it hard to leave an abusive partner. It is particularly common in toxic relationships, especially with narcissists. Trauma bonds can occur where abusive behaviour is followed by acts of kindness, sacrifice, and affection and then the cycle repeats continuously. It can be extremely confusing to be caught in this relationship
dynamic, because the abuse always goes hand-in-hand with love and intimacy. This problem is especially likely if you are empathic and your narcissist partner plays on their victim mentality to manipulate your sympathy. This phenomena has been likened to Stockholm Syndrome, first recognised where bank robbers hostages fell in love with their captors.
