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The grandiose narcissist needs to have his/her ego constantly stroked. He knows how to reel people in. He plays to their dependency needs, material desires, their aspirations for wealth and power. He can take one look at a woman and know how to get her under his control. Many women fall for this master of charm with all the gilded promises. With a narcissist you are lead to believe that you life will be unlimited, that you can have every high and pleasurable experience you’ve ever wanted, that you will never have to worry about money, security, social status. You will always be royal. Woman with very successful careers and professions still fall for charming narcissistic men. They become entranced, hypnotized.

The sociopathic narcissist is several steps beyond his classic brother narcissist. He doesn’t have a whiff of conscience. He is involved in illegal activities as part of his lifestyle. He secretly leads a number of lives and has a keen killer instinct. You get in his way and your life is toast. That is the force of his dangerous darkness. He may threaten you openly or keep his plans secret but watch out if you confront him. Those who go along with him are not leading their own lives. They stay there because of all the perks which are a constant distraction like a merry go round that is moving faster and faster. The giddiness of having anything you want is intoxicating.

Sociopathic narcissists are disastrous parents. They are incapable of forming any kind of relationship with them. Sometimes the child looks up to the father or mother because this person is very successful and powerful. Some narcissistic sociopaths choose one child to mirror him. He becomes the golden boy or girl and can do no wrong.

Sociopathic narcissists are psychological killers in business. They terrorize their rivals. They have close allies and partners that make the lives of their competitors a living hell. They step over ethical and legal boundaries all of the time and don’t get caught because they have a coterie of killer instinct sociopathic lawyers.

When you decide to divorce a sociopathic narcissist, make your preparations secretly and take your time to do a lot of research. Interview several attorneys who understand the way these people tick. The soon to be ex is out for blood and will stop at nothing to win. Find an attorney who is not intimidated in the slightest with these personalities, someone who remains calm when the long knives come out. Use all of your resources to get the support you need. Excellent psychotherapy can be very helpful during this time. Find friends that are available to support you and stick with this ordeal. You will prevail. Keep telling yourself that this is a marathon and you are up to the race and will cross the finish line with a smile on your face. Visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

The beginning of healing is recognizing that you are worthy and that you have unique value as an individual. This can be difficult for those who not only married narcissists but grew up with a narcissistic mother or father. From the beginning of life you were treated like an object or less. No one gave you the special attention you needed, even as a small child. Your basic physical needs may have been taken care of (or not) but there was no emotional contact or understanding with the narcissistic parent. This person was so preoccupied to himself/herself that you were invisible to them. In other cases you were the punching bag. The narcissistic parent was constantly enraged and you were conveniently there to receive the blows–the humiliations, criticisms, threats, intimidations. You can still remember the primal sounds of your narcissistic mother’s screams; the way she looked at you with pure hatred. You felt yourself grow cold. Your intestines roiled inside. You thought you were going to die on the spot. Some children become emotionally frozen and feel numb. They learn to go into this state to protect themselves. Some narcissists parents have special sadistic punishments–putting you in a locked closet most of the day. There you sat and cried, unable to breathe, not knowing when you would be released. You felt terror roar throughout your body and mind. Finally you whimpered yourself to sleep. Some narcissistic parents treat their children like servants. Small children must clean the house, wash the clothing and wait on the narcissistic mother or father. There is no mercy behind the walls of this house. Those on the outside never know that this malevolent treatment is taking place.

You can and will heal from your narcissistic mother, father, spouse, sibling. One of the most significant roles here is in putting your healing first–make it a priority. You have been living in the fight or flight mode most of your life. It is essential that you begin to have experiences within your self that feel safe and calm. Each person finds his own pathway to healing. We take from different disciplines and practices. One that helps many people is the use of the breath to calm the body/mind. This can work through the practice of gentle hatha yoga poses with emphasis on the breath moving in and out of the nostrils. When we do a pose we are gentle with ourselves. There is no need to strain or push. There is nothing to attain. Be present with yourself and pay attention to your breath. If you are unfamiliar with yoga it might be helpful to find a class with a teacher who is skilled but also highly empathic and calm. True yoga is uncompetitive. It is a practice that has developed over thousands of years and is very effective for many in achieving greater calmness within the body and mind. Another method of treatment is acupuncture. This is not for everyone. Some people are afraid of needles (although they are very thin). Finding the right practitioner is very important. This is someone who is highly skilled and experienced and whose ego is dropped. Besides this, you want to see an acupuncturist who does not have a money motive but a healing motive in treating patients. Acupuncture treatments lead the patient to experience the parasympathetic nervous system, that part of us that is very calm and feels safe and protected. We rest in a deep security as we let go and ground with the experience.

Writing regularly for yourself alone is another form of healing from the narcissist. It frees up your mind and emotions. You are expressing feelings as you release them. There are no judgments to make as you write. It flows from you. Spending time with Nature is also very healing. We see the intricacies and beauty of the natural world and are amazed by them. Some people have small gardens and find that focusing in the present on their plants and flowers is part of their healing process. Meditation for some of those who are recovering can be a source of comfort, quieting the mind and focus. Do not be judgmental when you meditate. Meditation is not the absence of thought. It is the effort that matters the most, not the time you put in. One minute of meditation or prayer is invaluable. Some form of exercise releases body tensions and calms obsessive thinking. Choose what works for you. Find your own ways of healing. Trust yourself. You know so much about how to find you way back. The body/mind is always moving naturally toward healing. Visit my website: thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

The narcissistic mother is cold, robotic, ruthless and cruel. She has no real feelings for her children except for the one who is most like her–the golden one. This is the special boy or girl whom she has picked as a living god like a pharaoh. NMs live through these children who can do no wrong, who have no limits and are allowed to abuse their brothers and sisters without any consequences.

Unchosen children live in constant fear, apprehension, always waiting for the next catastrophe. Their nervous systems are always turned on the fight or flight syndrome. They don’t know what it means to feel safe. Many of them have horrible insomnia or night terrors. They worry that mother will come in and start screaming at them or even beating them. Secret punishments that cause humiliation and constant terror are meted out regularly. When you live with a narcissistic mother you exist in a kind of gulag. There is no escape; you feel helpless and alone and there is an enduring sense that this hell is never going to end. Some children of narcissistic mothers feel deep inside that they are bad and defective human beings. “What have I done wrong?” What horrible things have I done to mom that she hates me so much? “I can’t stop hearing her screaming in my ears?” “I get scared every night that she’s coming in my room to hit me and then send me away. Where will I go?’

Every despicable word or deed you can imagine has been perpetrated by narcissistic mothers, especially if they are sociopathic. They are highly sadistic and smirk and smile when their children are most terrified by them. They love to shock even a small child just to watch the kind of power they have over him. They cram food down their throats, put them on hunger regimens, make them eat food that has spoiled, demand they stand in their feces for hours. You name it, they’ve done it!.

The psychological impact of having a narcissistic mother is devastating. There are actually some people who don’t believe these life stories. I say the hell with them. Don’t give anyone who doesn’t believe you the slightest attention. You know exactly what you have live through. There are so many people who are incapable of empathy. If it didn’t happen to them, it doesn’t exist. How narcissistic is that!

Adult children of narcissistic mothers can continue to suffer in the aftermath of their abuse. Many of them find healing by working with excellent psychotherapists, practicing healing modalities like gentle yoga with its emphasis on the slow breath through the nostrils, acupuncture can bring the quieting parasympathetic nervous system experience to those who have suffered this level of abuse. Many survivors of maternal narcissistic abuse find their way back to inner peace, the loving acceptance of their real selves and the activation of their creative gifts. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

Many spouses wait years , even decades on a wild, treacherous ride with their narcissistic partner. As time passes they become more miserable, weary and wary about their marital partner. There are many rounds of couples therapy which do no good. In some cases the therapist sides with the narcissistic spouse and convinces you that you have the serious psychological problems that are causing problems with the marriage. Narcissists are so clever and such fine actors that they fool therapists with their charm and magnetism. After you have tried everything possible and are at a turning point, you make the decision to divorce your spouse.

I suggest you don’t announce your decision until you are fully prepared for every aspect of this event. In some cases that are particularly acrimonious the spouse has her/his attorney get in touch with the other side. Choosing the right attorney is of utmost importance. It is wise to interview several lawyers who specialize in divorce and family law. Get good referrals from your close friends but remember that everyone is an individual. It is your decision alone. In addition to the professional skills, knowledge and expertise of the lawyer, consider his or her personality. This individual must have a keen sense of the nature of the narcissistic personality. You want a lawyer who is calm, competent and your loyal advocate at all times. The attorney needs to be quick at perceiving some new ruse the narcissist and his attorney have hatched to sabotage you. One plan is to wear you down so far emotionally and physically that you are not up for the challenge. Make sure you take very good care of yourself especially during this time. Get your sleep, take time to be quiet and calm each day through meditation, gentle yoga, exercise, journaling—what works best for you. This is your time. Take full advantage of it. Keep focused on your personal, creative and professional strengths. Know that you will prevail.Turn to a few friends whom you trust completely and allow yourself to be nurtured by them. Some spouses that brief psychotherapy during this time is highly supportive and informative. When you form a strong therapeutic alliance with an excellent therapist it can make a great difference in moving through this process. Interview several therapists if that is necessary.

Take the upper road but be keenly aware that the narcissist is a street fighter who hits below the belt and can get down and dirty. You already know this from being married to him/her. Don’t be surprised at the outrageous lengths he will go to intimidate you or trap you or use a well hatched trick to take the financial assets that are lawfully yours. Protect your children by being tough and don’t lose your cool. The narcissist want you off balance and out of control so he can show how disturbed you are. He/she will lie about you. Know that the people who are truly your friends know exactly who you are and the others who believe him must be dismissed.

Give yourself credit. You are about to become free after years of psychological imprisonment. Call upon the warrior inside of you, the one who knows exactly who this person is and also knows that you will prevail.

To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

It may come in an elaborate porcelain cup or a plain cracked bowl but the contents are the same—psychological poison. Every day that you live with a narcissist, you are putting yourself in the hands of a person who is incapable of love and who secretly hates you. Pathological narcissism is a severe personality disorder and must be taken seriously. Identifying a narcissist can be difficult, especially if they have a very attractive facade and know how to communicate well. They are often socially very smooth and are gifted at pretending that they are genuinely interested in you. Even when you marry a narcissist you are often unaware of how disturbed and destructive to your life they will be. Deep inside the narcissist loathes himself. He has no inner resources to turn to. As a result of his unconscious self hatred and emptiness he projects psychological detritus on to you. He is the perfect one; you are horribly flawed. These projections put in your cup day by day are drams of psychological poison that you swallow. How many doses of this nasty brew will you take?

You are at the narcissist’s disposal to satisfy his outrageous ego needs, burnish his image and if you have a highly successful career and profession, a stellar economic profile high level social connections, he will invite himself to use these as well. Narcissists are toxic. When we see a label that is marked poison, we are repelled and step away. The narcissist’s potion takes away your freedom, your confidence, siphons off your creative ideas. Some spouses of narcissists become physically ill as a result of their constant exposure to the narcissist’s vile nature. You can decide that you will not take this cup, that it is disastrous for you. You have the free will to say “No” and dispose of this blight upon your life. There are so many spouses who have made this choice and there lives are transformed as a result. They are free now to re-start their lives, to engage their creative gifts and to discover that there are genuine human beings who are waiting to meet them. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

There are excruciating choices some women have to make. Stay married to a husband who is psychologically fused with his narcissistic mother or make the decision to sever the marriage because you can no longer tolerate the severe narcissistic abuse projected on to you.

This woman is not going to change. She is the vaunted Matriarch of the family. She runs everyone: her husband, children, siblings and any one else that crosses her path. Her son (your husband) loves and hates his mother but he is psychologically locked in to her. He has never been able to separate himself from her clutches. You married him because of your love for him. You saw a long future of sharing your life with him. Then the nightmare started full force. His narcissistic mother revealed herself in full ugly vengefulness. She gossiped about you to all the relatives, made up secrets about you and your family, telling all who would listen that you came from people who were dishonest and low class, who may have committed crimes. This vicious gossip and flat out lines was very convincing to her coterie of family followers. They believed her.

You recognized that your husband was in fact intimidated like a young boy about hurting his mother’s feelings who could turn the tears on and off like a well oiled tap. What an actress—She needed to take to the stage.

But this is real life for you every day, a miserable impossible situation with this woman and a man who remains a small boy in her presence. It is up to you to decide if you will remain in this very difficult role of villainess.

There are many life stories of women subjected to this level of narcissistic abuse that recognize that their husbands are so fused with their mothers that this Gordian knot cannot be untied. It is time to say goodbye. This is not an easy parting, but wrenching, especially if you have children. Many women have taken this hard pathway to their freedom from the narcissistic mother-in-law. But the rewards are great. You have your personal freedom, inner peace and all of your options are open for you to use all of your creative gifts. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

In a mysterious way we can expand and deepen the meaning of our lives when we successfully leave the narcissist (spouse, mother, father, narcissistic family), sibling, mother-in-law) . There are many steps involved. It is a painful but highly valuable process and journey. Recognizing that you are married to a narcissist and the frequent recipient of his/her abuse is the beginning of your healing. This is a tough time. There can creep in the temptation to go back to this man or woman who has occupied large portions of your life. You may have even become accustomed to his outrageous demands and criticisms. And if you have been on board for the heightened lifestyle, this decisive move away from him/her is usually difficult. For some spouses they have been waiting for decades to make the break on the end of the high platform ready to dive into the new waters of life. “What a relief! I am free now to be myself.”

There are as many avenues to healing as there are individuals. Some find that high quality psychotherapy is very helpful. Forming a therapeutic alliance with a therapist who is clinically knowledgeable and highly empathic creates a healing bond that many need during this tough time. Become informed by interviewing several therapists. Some of them with all of their education and training are motivated by the business money driven aspects of their practice. Some therapist dabble in their practices and are not completely committed to helping their clients heal. Do your homework. It will serve you well.

Some individuals find that healing modalities like gentle yoga with emphasis on the breath and focusing the mind alleviates their stress and accesses the parasympathetic nervous system–the calming aspect of the body/mind. Others discover their budding creativity in the form of writing, painting, gardening and many other pursuits.Listening to music you love, learning how to dance in any form, walking or going to the gym are represent many different ways that you can begin to heal. If you have a friend that you can trust and call upon at any time is a source of strength. You are not alone, remember that. Some turn to meditation in the form that works for them. Short meditations are very effective in calming our errant thoughts. Don’t be judgmental when you meditate. It is all about making the effort.

Be kind to yourself. You have been through a series of ordeals as the daughter, son, sibling, husband, wife of a narcissistic personality. To learn about the narcissistic personality in-depth, visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

There are specific kinds of narcissistic sociopathic women who are groomed from childhood to believe that they are entitled to have or do anything they want. There are no limits placed on them. They don’t develop a conscience. Very early they learn how to cleverly take advantage and manipulate anyone and everyone in their environment to get their limitless needs for veneration, adulation and worship met. These woman are often narcissistic daddy’s girls at the beginning. Daddy is so obsessed with his little daughter that a rift occurs with his wife. A fateful triangle develops and his wife and the daughter’s mother is left out of the picture. It becomes a daddy and me portrait. Daddy and his daughter have an erotic tie although this in infrequently acted out sexually. She has become his psychological mate. Early on this daughter knows that she can get dad to do anything for her—even something very outrageous. When she begins to date she exploits teenage boys and then men through her good looks and sexuality to inflate her enormous ego with mother lodes of narcissistic supplies.

These women get a rush, a sexual one, but more importantly, a power rush when their complicated undulating scheme leading to the seduction of a man has worked perfectly. The sociopathic woman has her target in mind way ahead of time, sometimes for years. She knows exactly what she is going to do to “get this guy, to seduce him, to control him, to destroy him.” Beneath the surface this kind of sociopathic woman hates men. I call her a phallic woman. Although she freely uses her female organs and looks to seduce men, she carries a psychological phallus with her that can defeat any man. On an unconscious level, since childhood, she was forced to become a false self. She was adored for her look, her brightness, the force of her extroverted personality, not for her real self. On an unconscious level she seeks revenge and the taste of it is sweet when she has seduced a powerful man and unraveled his life. Forget that she is married with children. This is a small detail to her; they are part of her external persona, not her identity. They are living puppets who make her look good.

When the seduction is complete and the sociopathic woman has achieved total power over this man, she is high–celebrating her victory. Her man, her possession has been carefully picked for his stature, his power position in the world, monetary worth and high voltage connections. She doesn’t care if the affair is discovered and becomes public. The betrayal of her husband is a small footnote and her children are not a factor. When the liaison is discovered and goes viral, this is the fulfillment of her dreams. She has prevailed. These sociopathic women will do their victory dance, acquire all of the power and money and acclaim possible and then move on to the next man whom they can seduce, exploit and destroy. This dangerous game continues throughout her life. She is a predator and will never abandon this role.

The best way to deal with these sociopathic women is to learn to identify them immediately and to distance ourselves from them. To learn about the narcissistic personality and the narcissistic sociopath, visit my website: thenarcissistinyourlife.com

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]

One of the most difficult roles is to be the daughter of a narcissistic mother. I hear each unique life story from daughters who have endured having a cold, selfish, exploitive and abusive narcissistic mother. This is a non-mother who is incapable of cherishing and providing comfort to her daughter, even when the child was very small. In some cases there are surrogate mothers in the form of grandmothers, older sisters, aunts and even the mothers of friends. But the little girl longs to have the emotional, physical affection and psychological closeness of a real mom. Often the narcissistic mother is envious of her lovely daughter who is beautiful, bright, unique and creative. From the time she is very young, this daughter knows that mother is jealous of her. It is evident in the way she looks at her daughter with envy. Every step of the way she makes it difficult for this daughter to get close to her dad. She has the master gatekeeper. Mother pretends that she wants her husband all to herself. The truth is she doesn’t give a damn about this man. He is an emasculated puppet whom she is using. In some families mother chooses a son to be the golden, very special answer to all of her prayers. He is worshiped from the first. Mother’s eyes light up every time she talks about him. He is never corrected for any mistake or cruelty and is allowed to have the run of the house and the family. Under her breath the daughter calls him “the little beast.” She spends a lot of time staying out of his presence. He always gets her into trouble, constantly telling lies and making her take the blame for his innumerable misdeeds. Mother always believes him.

Daughters of narcissistic mothers feel trapped. Some use their studies as an escape and respite from the emotional maternal deprivation that they suffer and the unwarranted criticisms of the narcissistic mother. Things get worse when the daughter is a teenager and blooms into a lovely young woman. Then the mother daggers come out. Narcissistic mothers become especially cruel when their daughters are admired and paid attention to by boys and young men. As time passes the mother/daughter relationship worsens (It never existed) but the self hatred of the narcissistic mother is primitively projected on to her daughter. The volleys of dreadful remarks, false accusations, humiliations are constantly hitting the abused daughter. Mercifully, many daughters leave home for school or work and at least have the physical distance to keep them away from the narcissistic maternal poison.

It is painful and agonizing for these daughters to realize that they never had a mother. Instead they had a woman who never wanted them, who did all she could to make her feel unloved. As she becomes independent and sets up her own life, these daughters have a decision to make. Are they going to continue this pseudo relationship with the NM for holidays and visits and phone calls and emails that are often accusatory and off the wall snipes at her. NMs don’t change. This is a fixed personality disorder. And mother still believes and always will that she is perfect and her daughter is severely flawed. Some grown daughters manage to maintain a very distant relationship. They make sure they are never alone with mother. That’s when her projections are the most toxic. If she is married she uses her spouse as a buffer. For other daughters of NMs it is impossible. Every time there is any kind of exchange it is ugly and cruel.

Many daughters decide to go No Contact No Visits, Phone Calls, Emails, Texts, Letters, any form of communication. That is how they protect themselves. The difficult work for many of these daughters is in recognizing intellectually and emotionally that they never had a real mother. Some benefit from psychotherapy if it is of a high quality. Others find compassion and deep caring in friendships, partnerships and marriages. Many are freed for the first time in their lives. They are not being judged, rather they can express and feel who they really are. They feel their authenticity, spontaneity and even joy. You deserve to heal from your NM. Your new life is waiting for you. Jump on the boat and take a ride down this glorious river and wait to find even greater beauty, mystery and enchantment around the bend. Visit my website:thenarcissistinyourlife.com.

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D.
Telephone Consultation: United States and International
Book: Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life
Email: [email protected]