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I know how painful it is to be caught up in someone’s addictions – suffering the anguish of the invalidation of your needs, safety, love requirements and security – as well as seeing this person destroying themselves and others.

Of course, you hope that you can help them overcome the addiction, so that you and they can be happy and have a fulfilling relationship – whether it be your lover, spouse, child, relative or friend.

But how do we even know if this person is capable of ‘becoming decent’ even if they lose their addiction?

And why is it, in trying to help this person, often we just get sicker and sicker and they don’t stop doing the things that are ripping our life, as well as theirs, apart?

In today’s Thriver TV episode we take a deep dive into this very important question – ‘Is there any hope for this addict, or are they a narcissist how can’t be healthy – addictions or not?’

 

 

Video Transcript

So many people ask me this question, and maybe the following questions go round and round in your mind too.

Does this person behave like this because she or he has addiction issues?

Or … is this person simply a narcissist, through and through?

This is what today’s Thriver TV episode is all about – cutting the wheat away from the chaff and working out once and for all, whether this person behaves narcissistically as a result of their addiction, or is their addiction just another part of their ingrained narcissism?

I also really hope today that you learn a little more about what drives addictions and what is really necessary to get off addictions. And I promise you I am going to tell you exactly how you can distinguish if this person is behaving narcissistically because they are an addict, or if they really are a narcissist.

Ok … let’s get started with looking at some truths about narcissism. Narcissists are addicts – and their primary drug is narcissistic supply. They need it as much as an ice or crack addict needs ice or crack. Narcissists have disowned their inner being, and therefore as a result of this, their pathway through to Life, Source, Oneness, and connection with feelings of security, love, and approval are thwarted.

Narcissists are out on the raw rugged edge feeling terminally uneasy, distrusting and insecure and therefore suffer inescapable emotional trauma, meaning self-mediation is needed in order to function. That is what every addict does – attempts to self-medicate inner anxiety, terror and feelings of annihilation with a substance or pastime that drowns out (or numbs out) the inner screams.

Narcissists frenetically seek narcissistic supply – acclaim, accolades, attention, and notoriety. All of this is known as ‘significance’. A narcissist without narcissistic supply is as empty and as manically depressed, panicked, nasty or catatonic as any hardcore drug addict unable to score.

The truth is this: if this primary addiction is not cleaned up then this person will never be available to truly love you and supply you with a healthy and happy life because their life is all about them – getting the drug that makes them feel better. If you are not supplying the drug of narcissistic supply adequately enough you will be punished or discarded. If someone else comes along with a better offer the narcissist will shift their attention and allegiance there.

The narcissist is not interested in healing and reviving their True Self or getting off the addiction of narcissistic supply and unless you understand that this is a self-medicating addiction, you may not realise how serious this issue is.

You may think that the narcissist’s sex addictions, alcoholism, gambling or whatever it is that he or she has a co-addiction to is the true issue, because that is what we are all taught to believe – yet even if the narcissist somehow beats these issues (and some do) there is no way, as a narcissist, they will give up their nastiest primary addiction that allows them to minimalise, dehumanise, discard, punish, mine and rape people’s souls and lives – namely the narcissist being hooked on narcissistic supply.

Okay, now let’s look at hardcore addicts who are not narcissists. It may be very difficult to distinguish between the two. Addicts are nasty, angry, accusatory and usually refuse to take responsibility for their behaviour. Additionally, they pathologically lie in order to maintain and regulate the supply of their addiction.

Just like narcissists, they are unavailable to connect, love or care for others, because its all about them – specifically feeding the addiction going on inside them – and it doesn’t matter what this addiction is, it’s all the same, the addiction is a symptom of some deeper trauma

These addicts, like all addicts, are self-medicating the inner emptiness and pain of unworthiness; the anxieties and fear that are all to do with unresolved traumas. What often happens with any addicts is this: if they give up an addiction through sheer will-power, rather than do the inner work, they usually pick up another addiction to replace it because there is still the need to self-medicate the still existing inner trauma.

This is very true for narcissists too – the truth is they never give up narcissistic supply and terrible abusive behaviour ensues whether they are drinking, gambling or being sex and porn addicts or not.

Naturally, it can be heartbreaking to see someone you care about deep in addiction. You know they are destroying themselves and you want to rescue them – but there is a very hard truth about addicts and what is necessary for them to recover. And, its also the most difficult things for us to do because it is totally counterintuitive to what we think we should be doing.

I want to share this story with you because is the most perfect story I have ever heard in relation to this topic. Years ago I took a dear friend of mine to a gambler’s anonymous (GA) meeting. At the tea break, I had a fascinating chat with the man hosting the meeting and his wife.  He was in his 60s and he told me how he battled drinking, drugs and gambling for 30 years.

For years his wife tried to get him help and stayed with him, but he never changed. Eventually, finally, she said this to him – ‘I will no longer be with an addict. Move out and don’t come near me until you have a 6-month clean bill of health.’ She meant it. She was resolute. She had no idea whether or not she would be available for him if he did return clean and sober (she wasn’t waiting for him) or even if he had the capacity to change.

He tried to get around it. He tried to break her boundaries (as addicts do). He twisted, turned, poured on charm, promises, then when that didn’t work, anger and threats. But she didn’t capitulate once. She meant it. She had no control over his life but she had fully taken back control of her own.

No more addicts in her life ever again – EVER!

Yes, she lost security, yes she had to struggle alone to look after herself and the kids, but her soul became more important than bricks and mortar.

After a brief stint in rehab, he tried to come back – but she wouldn’t take him. Her agreement was ONLY written proof that he had not drugged, gambled or drank in 6 months. For two years he fell back on addictions, but with therapy and regular GA, AA and NA meetings and getting totally serious, he finally broke through.

When I met him and his wife, he had been addiction free for over 10 years. His wife expressed how she adored him and said he was the most beautiful man she could ever hope to be with – as well as father and grandfather.

He said about her, ‘She saved my life. If she hadn’t done what she did I would be dead.’

I want you to understand the power of Quantum Law here – so within, so without – people can only love us and treat us identically to how we love and treat ourselves. If we stay around abuse and addictions, then we are abusing ourselves and we also have our own addiction to this person – self-medicating something inside us that we haven’t turned inwards to heal and free ourselves from yet. And, we not only enable this person to keep abusing us, but also to remain being an addict.

It isn’t until people no longer have the roof over their head, food on the table and their bills paid, as well as any of our attention, that they are left having to face and hopefully heal themselves. Unless they get to this rock bottom they will never have the opportunity to.

This is where we have to let go, take care of ourselves properly and allow that to happen and NOT be attached to the outcome. Too many addicts get saved from hitting their rock bottom from well-meaning people, and never heal anything. And, either way – whether they return or not – we get to live our truth.

Please know a narcissist is not going to get well, however an addict who is not a narcissist like this lovely man possibly can. But will you ever know if you don’t become and walk and demonstrate the truth of your own soul and what you will and won’t accept as your life?

No!

Okay, I understand totally how terrifying it is to let go and set your boundaries, mean it and no longer compromise yourself, and if you are struggling with this question – narcissist or addict? – I want to show you exactly how to find, release and heal your inner traumas that are causing you to sell yourself out and self-medicate by staying attached to this person.

And that’s vital because it is the only way to clean up your life and start creating it as ‘addict and narcissist free.’

So … to get started on this and get relief asap, you can sign up to my free 16-day recovery course, which includes a profoundly healing workshop with me, a set of eBooks and lots more.

So until next time… keep smiling, keep healing and keep thriving because there’s nothing else to do

 

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Commments (36) + Leave a comments

36 thoughts on “Narcissist Or Addict… Can They Ever Change?

  1. Hi Melanie, I always get clarity whenever you post your Thriver TV episodes.

    In my opinion, and based on my experience, I feel the addiction is part of the narcissism. My ex had a very unhealthy addiction to women with 20 inch nails! LOL Quite bizzare. He basically sought them out online, and would meet for sex. True story. He hid it. So on top of the cheating, this is what he was doing. What is very interesting about this unhealthy “fetish” is that he obviously treated these women (the nails) as objects. Didn’t matter who was behind them, it was a sexual addiction for him that started at a very young age. This was a very dark side to him, aside from all the other narcissistic traits. But this in particular, he kept it hidden.

    When I discovered all these shananigans, and I confronted him (this was before I actually realized he was a narc), he denied it, then later admitted it but with an incredible amount of shame.

    Needless to say, this is when I ran as fast as possible. The rest all unfolded as it was needed for me, but it was an incredible story. Crazy stuff that you just can’t make up!

    So grateful I am in a different place today.

  2. Well, this is a great issue for me right now. I need to recover from the abuse from my ex-narc, the realization that my mother (who just died in May) was a narcissistic mother and my own addictions which I do use to numb out or to distract myself from my core inner wounds. It’s time for the craziness to stop. My mother is gone so it’s time to move forward while letting go of the past of never getting her approval. I’ve done so much reading about narcissistic stuff as well as being involved with a lot of online support groups. I’ve moved on to the groups that are about recovering from extreme trauma resulting from emotional abuse and a couple groups on C-PTSD and recovery. I know how you feel about support groups that just keep going round and round reliving the abuse and not moving into the recovery phase.

  3. Amen! This must be my day. Thank you again for this video. Despite being divorced for almost two years I’ve struggled with this question, I made the decision to divorce regardless because I knew my health and well being were far too important than whether or not this was a narc or addict. I wouldn’t have had any trouble leaving the relationship on all levels and getting out of it had it not been for us having a young daughter together which is what made it that much more challenging. I thought, who am I to break up this family and force single parent life on my daughter when I don’t even know for sure if it is NPD or severe addictions (several of them) and the big spider web of issues that goes along with them. To this day I’ve asked myself this very question but I saw how even divorce and separation from the child he loves was not even enough to force him to get help. It took me cutting off my energy as much as humanly possible for my ex to seek therapy for the addictions. So thankful that I chose to do what was right for me and my daughter despite how hard it has been. So grateful for this video today!

    1. Hi Jennifer,

      So glad this resonates with you.

      You are 100% correct what that person is is inconsequential. What is vital is living aligned with our True Life in order to generate it. Congratulations for letting go and honouring yourself.

      Dear Lady it is so important that our children don’t receive the conditioning that relationships with addicts are okay.

      You have totally done the right thing, you and her will be so much healthier for your choice.

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

  4. Mel,
    You explained it so beautifully ! I may forward this to others who are pondering this question.
    Thanks,
    Jane

  5. Omg Melanie, I’ve finally arrived! Took me 3 years after being forced to leave on threat of my life and losing everything, having to start my entire life over and hearing this message to work on myself and go extreme to no contact to get my head out of this concern! I’ve come so far with your and your teams steady help that I honestly don’t care anymore whether my ex partner is Narc or addict! Whatever the case, all of it destroyed me, my family, my life and soul to the point that I honestly just feel sick at the thought of getting even remotely near that merry go round again. I’m so so done. Even a whiff of this type of dysfunction coming from any other individuals makes me want to scream and run for the hills!

    I didn’t want to believe that it was over, that all my ex’s seemingly genuine efforts were a ruse to get me back, but bit by bit, by getting away and clearing all the fog that hampered my vision, I was able to see the truth for what it was. Now whenever I’m anywhere near my ex or any other toxic individuals I feel their vampiric energy straight away and I no longer allow that energy to confuse me, woo me prematurely or otherwise take me out!

    For anyone struggling with this, it is so so normal to want to hold onto hope. Keep healing. Put yourself first no matter how torn and confused you feel. Keep pushing thru it. Don’t give up on yourself. Challenge yourself everyday to embrace this mantra: The only person I can change and control is myself. Let time and space do it’s magic. Once the pain of loss and grief subsides you will see things for what they are and life will deepen with newfound joy, richness and meaning. It’s a long journey but so worth it. Leave your partners in the hands of the universe and be there for you. It is a process you will not regret.

    1. Hi Wildflower,

      That is awesome that you have come so far!!

      How great that you no longer want to roll around with this.

      I love you mantra, empowering suggestions to everyone and your orientation.

      You are such a beautiful inspiration.

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

    2. So happy for you. I’m getting there and reading your post really helps. You’re an inspiration Wildflower!

  6. Thank you Mel, this is SO helpful! Anyway i also value Abraham Hicks’ perspective about addictions: people do not have to “label” themselves as addicts, “they are already perfect, they just use what they want at d moment to feel some relief in their journey towards who they really are and what they really want. by thinking they’re addicts they’re taking score too soon and they can not enjoy what they want and they feel guilty.”
    Obviously addictions can kill people but i think that also considering themselves as addicts can kill them because they’re So much more than that, they already have worthiness and guilt’s issues so they don’t need another negative label.

    Much Love as always*****

  7. I was married to an alcoholic when we were both 21. Of course I didn’t know that then. He was young, beautiful, smart, funny, and he stood to inherit family money. We had two kids straight way. By the time I was 25 my life had completely fallen apart. At that time, in the early 80’s, speaking about alcoholism in the family was taboo. Somehow I found Al-Anon, and after a short time I left him, then came back after a few months, then a year later told him to leave, get straight or that was it. He got straight for a few months, said all the right things, but it was on and off the wagon for years. I didn’t sleep for about 6 years. Anyhow- fast forward, after ten years of living on my own, and having gone to Al-Anon for years, with a sponsor and everything (my kids to Al-Ateen) I was working with a guy on contract for a few years and one thing and another (too ridiculously narc to have to tell here) I fell for him big time. Once we were living together (now in the mid-90″s) he exhibited all the behaviours of the alcoholic without any booze!! I could NOT for the life of me figure it out. I started going back to Al-Anon, thinking oh he’s a Workaholic- and I’ll work on my co-dependent behaviours.
    Fast forward another 15 years (!!!!!!) I did everything by myself- wiped out “codependency”- but no one could take his place as my “husband” – he was receiving all sorts of acclaim for his work, travelling the world etc etc and I was reduced to a dismissed shell of a human being.
    Long story short- at one point i typed into google (the Internet web2.0 saved my life) when is it time to leave? And for some reason I landed on a recover forum for partners of narcissists. It blew my mind! ALL of it, EVERYTHING about my life started to make sense.
    In 2012 I discovered Melanie and let me tell you- it is NEVER too late to reclaim your soul. Her narc recovery program finally addressed all the underlying issues. As partners of narcissists we take on SO much, trying to have a health relationship- we are placed in a codependent position again and again.
    We have to walk away completely.
    I’m now 62- my first young husband the alcoholic got clean- but he is still an asshole. Narc-alicious. I never see him, but hear about him from his brother very occasionally.
    My narc 2nd husband moved on straight away to a “nurse with a purse”. He had been having affairs for years.
    Finally- if you are working with Melanie’s programs, please stick with it – it may take only a few months, or a few years, but your life WILL change for the better. You will no longer be carrying a huge leaden burden around your heart. You CAN let it ALLL go.
    Thank you for this video Melanie. I am so grateful this information is out there because there are so many young people in this pro-narc culture that need to hear your message.

    1. Oh wow Becca,

      What a journey you have been on.

      I salute you for your courage and your spirit to do the inner work and truly save your soul.

      Becca many would have given up, but you Dear Lady are a powerful and shining light who deserves all the greatest and best soul breakthroughs.

      I wish you every blessing.

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

    1. Candle light: I would suggest asking your question here and I’m sure Melanie or someone else could help.

  8. Melanie, thank you for the wonderful insight you offer into this dual phenomenon. My 15-month nightmare with narcissism was with a dominantly somatic narcissist, but one who also was an overpowering cerebral narcissist. He was both. I felt like we could’ve made the relationship work because our brains functioned compatibly well in many ways. Like many women with advanced education degrees and the benefits of good psychotherapy, I actually enjoyed a manageable degree of interactive and socialized companionship with him. His cerebral side genuinely enjoyed my ability to help him grow his business. We taught each other many great things about land development, in which he was an expert. He also loved how I introduced him to travel, foreign cultures, and good cuisine. Yes, we had a moderate amount of fun and good times. But I know exactly why I had to end it — it was because he had a tangential sexual addiction and compulsion that was fueled by his somatic narcissism. He was always handsome and physically well-built, sweet and charming all our lives (I knew him from childhood), but he was out of control as an adult. He was unfaithful almost the entire 15 months with me. It was during these periods of sexual compulsiveness that we had our knock-down, drag out fights because I refused to accept his lies and overall emotional abuse. Most of all, I rejected every effort he made to gaslight me (“I’m like this only in your mind. She’s just a friend, but now, because of your insane interrogations, I’m done”). I held him accountable even though he slithered away, lied himself into a corner and lied some more to get out of it. He flunked every kind of “talk” we had. It was a waste of time and it always ended with him “disappearing” for 5-7 days at a time, a critical narcissistic move to find a new thrill somewhere else. He’d come back in a fog, as if he simply couldn’t remember where he’d been. Then after a few hours, he would return to his hard-working, intelligent self, coupled with the sweetness that I remembered from childhood.

    And so Melanie, after living this insane way for 15 months, I learned enough from your Quantum Healing program, and woke up one day with the much needed “shift” to go NO CONTACT. It’s been over a year now. And though I miss the so-called “good” moments with him, I definitely prefer this place I’m in. Thanks for the video!

    1. Wow Jeannie,

      You have done such an incredible job of pulling away from such a powerful cocktail of attraction.

      You should be so so proud of yourself that you have put your soul first.

      That is powerful and self honouring and from where in life all the amazing rewards emerge.

      Sending love and blessings to you.

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

  9. I’m so looking forward to listening to this. This is a question I have been asking myself until recently when I just decided that narcissism is the core issue. I’m glad to say I believe I am free of this relationship, finally; it took three years to let go, but I have to say it may have taken me years longer to break free had I not found Melanie Tonia Evans’ videos. So much of the confusion cleared up for me. Knowledge is power, but perhaps even more powerful is Melanie’s honesty and loving approach and presence. She makes you feel as if you are no longer alone. That is a tremendous gift when you are devastated and isolated by an adult-to-adult narcissistic abuse. Thank you, Mel.

  10. This is all so interesting as I had such an avesion to spiritual narcissism right from childhood. I grew uo in a fundamental Baptist church and saw right thru the self-righteous crap! I thought so much of the community’s judgmental behavior went against the fundamental teachings of Christ and I eventually ultimately rejected my faith and became an Atheist for a time until I saw thru my ex’s need for control and dominance in this area as well. Leaving my ex and all the other abusers and falling away from everything I had previously known opened up a space to experience a profound new way of relating to and experiencing spirituality, thanks in part to Melanie here and also thru another Melanie who practises NLP!! Life should feel calm, grounded and syncronous. I take my time when meeting people now. I pay attention to anything that seems too good to be true or anything that has an infectious allure as it usually is a sign that my soul and inner child need something that only I can give her! Peace 💗

  11. I am struggling at present, I have been married to a porn addict, suspected narc for 35 years
    All that time I have made discoveries of online dating sites, two escorts meets, honeymoon periods, then discovering online evidence of arranging more meets, he has lied into my eyes with such conviction, the hurt look was so believable, even though I had evidence and was giving him enough rope.. He just used lies to tell me we both should stop looking online, and delete our online profiles… Which he never did.. As I never did… Its sick how I spent so much time online tracking his deviant behaviour, I became addicted to the pain of reading what he was up to, even though I had wanted when I started just to be part of his sexual needs… I thought if I offered him what he was into, why would ge seek it elsewhere.. How wrong I was, I didn’t know about addiction or narcos.
    All I got from him is blaming, ie no cuddles, when he is the one who never wants sex. I mistakenly tried to offer his fetishes, but was used to attract crossdressers online, the last time was when my dad was dying, he was infatuated with a woman at his work, and dismissed my feelings by telling me if I kept on he would leave, and then how it meant nothing, just lust.. And he had been infatuated with five or six wonen over our marriage… And it meant nothing, he hadn’t done anything.. Except from early on ge told me he didn’t have a high sex drive, and never showed any passion towards me.. No initial honeymoon period for us, but I thought I was abnormal for bring over seed.. He made sure his subtle messages made me feel that way..
    he buys me stuff and says he loves me, yet reads or plays online games rather than chat or interact.he I tracts with me as if I am a child, is over protective when we are out etc,
    I know he is never going to change, but I still struggle to end marriage, as I am scared of the insecurity and still struggling with some misguided hope he will change… He has been like this since I met him, I found out recently he had stash of contact mags, a secret post office box and was writing to women as we moved into our first flat. First d day was a week after we married.. A returned letter saying he could meet during the day.. He dismissed it with it was before we were married.. Eh.. We lived together and were planning our wedding.
    I feel he is a narc rather than addict as he turns it back on me, and invalidates my emotions. I have been working on my issues as I realised he had become an obbssession and I was terrified of him leaving, I even blamed myself for him wanting to be with crossdressers, dominant big women, and dressed up, and tried to get fat, even when I gave him the fetush play, he humiliated me by asking if he could meet others, or told me I was useless at dominating. All the time I was dying inside, with no emotion fulfillment, I ended up feeling like a prop.
    that’s when I saw something was very wrong,i went to councelling for myself
    I now believe I am trauma, betrayal bonded to him,
    But still I can’t find the strength to end things, in fact I find it impossible to bring any thing about any serious things up, as he reacts in such a crazy way, shutting me down and bringing up minor, unrelated things I may have done, ie.. He “forgave me for spending a lot voting on pop idol because he loved me” or he “forgave me for looking in his drawer”
    I am in tormoil at present, knowing this feeling of distrust will never go, my gut is always knotted, and I feel he doesn’t value me, as he has never been I retested in anything I have done, even being negative when I was offered work, sayingit was out of pity, and other things meant to put me off
    On paper I read what I journal, and it is clear I would tell anyone else in my situation to leave, but I cannot, I find so many excuses, problems, responsibilities, I have been trying for years, saving, detaching, but it’s always.. When kids are grown, when dad was gone, when mum is settled.. Things are almost settled, and he wants us to move.. I feel this must be it, in my gut I know what moving would mean.. But now I am using the excuse, just a whole more, and I will have a pension to feel more secure.. Sadly this means I have spent all my life saying I am not happy but will hang on a while more,
    Sometimes I pray he will do something so bad I will find the strength to kick him out.. I never thought I would become the person I have, so weak.
    I have come so far finding myself, not needing his validation, I have emotionally detached, stopped trying to help him.. Doing things for myself etc.
    But I am stuck here
    Now he wants us to move to the coast to start afresh, promising things I have dreampt of, ie guesthouse ownership. I know in my gut it means he can get on with his games, keeping me occupied with a business etc.
    Once before we talked of moving.. And I found an online chat message to some crossdressers saying how he would be moving down their way soon
    He says don’t believe anything he writes..
    So da obvious reading this back, that I need to escape.. But it’s not all bad, thees enough good to keep me trapped in this limbo world, scared to do the wrong thing

    1. Hi Jenny,

      For all of us when we are tolerating unacceptable behaviour it is because we have the unhealed traumas inside is – as you say – that are binding us to these people.

      It’s when we address these that the homlocaust of staying attached to an abuser who won’t change – can end.

      That is exactly what NARP and the Thriver Way to heal allows us to achieve.

      I’d love to help you get started here: https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/freecourse

      What choice do we have, if we want to save our soul?

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

  12. I met my narc at Gamblers Anonymous in 2009. My husband passed away unexpectedly of a massive heart attack on Valentine’s Day 2005. I had confessed my gambling addiction to him only 6 months prior to his death. He was very supportive. He was very kind and loving in general. We had a great relationship. I have often wondered how I got myself trapped into this addiction. At the time of his death I was $22,000 in debt due to gambling. I was able to pay those debts and be completely debt free shortly after his death. I had a 13 year daughter and 11 year old son. Very good kids because they were raised in a loving environment from the start. By spring of 2009 I had mortgaged the house and maxed out credit card, took loans on vehicles but was still barley able to cope with the debts. I had been compulsive gambling for 10 years at this paying. I went to a 30 day recovery program after a few weeks of “sobriety”. This happened after a family intervention but I was ready to get help at that point and very willing to go. I was 3 months free of gambling when I met narc at GA. It was like electricity was flowing between us immediately! He described the same sensations I had. We seemed like the perfect couple. I was hoping to meet a divorced or widowed man that was displaced and could join me at my house and there he was! Fresh out of a stormy relationship. It only took a month or so for us to end up in a relationship. 2 months until he moved in. Now 9 years after being lied to about anything to do with finances and multiple other issues, I sit alone in the dark trying to figure out how to move on. I’ve often wondered if he was still gambling because he seemed to always be broke or acting like a “big spender” on pay days only to be broke again within a few days. Bills were almost always paid late or not until services were cut off or about to be cut off. In the meantime, I was on the verge of 2 years of “sobriety” when he lost his 3rd job while living with me. This is when I lost my sobriety and went back to gambling. At this point I was going through a big change at work. I had gotten better employment. At times, I was working 3 jobs while he had none. I felt hopeless, used and deceived. He always had an excuse. He had to be pinned down to help with projects around the house. He stole gas from the cans I had in the garages. He didn’t take care of his poor dog. Also his son who was the youngest of his 3 children was living with us 1/2 of the time. I felt like he always made himself look good to his son. With me and however, and in front of my kids, he would become angry, enraged is more like it, when confronted about any issues I had. At one point my son and I looked through his truck to find empty cigarette boxes to prove that he was still smoking and lying about it. It turned into a crazy rage. I tried to comfort him and e plain that he didn’t need to be perfect, just honest! I was sick of being with a “cardboard cutout” of a person. I also explained how it was humiliating to be lied to about so many things and have him think I believed it. So I kept swallowing the garbage while I was creating more of my own. My thoughts were this “I need to be a sick person to stay in this relationship” so I gambled because that was a perfect sickness to have in the middle of all this. I lost my self respect, many friends, my will to live, my sanity, and my financial freedom. I lost my house, my boat, all but one snowmobile, two of my 1 of my 3 vehicles, and so much more. I almost left him when my house was foreclosed in January of 2012. I moved into a rental with him at the last minute after I had already procured another place for myself alone. I lost that deposit. During that time he discovered I was gambling again by opening my mail and rummaging though all of my personal papers while I was gone for the weekend. He got my kids involved. At that point, he had numerous bounced checks coming in the mail, unpaid utility bill, child support, tax issues etc, but chose to air my dirty laundry! He never admitted all of his financial issues, I would find things by accident while cleaning, or by notices hanging on the door. At this point I said I wanted out and to separate for year to work on myself and my addiction. I said there was too much chaos and too many problems with our relationship. He talked me out of it and we made a list of things we were going to do to make things better. And back to bed we went which was always top notch. It was always hard to imagine leaving because I kept remembering being without physical contact for 4 years plus after my husband passed. I was sexually deprived. I missed the touching and closenesried. So I stayed and kept finding myself doing all the work and him not following through. So, back to gambling I went. A few days before I was set to move August of 2015, I told him I was leaving him. One of his respectable friends owned an Auto repair shop. I had an oil change done there the day I was moving and this friend said “ Narc is one of my favorite people ever but I’m assuming this move will be good for you. I mean financially speaking, what doe he do with his money? He works right? He’s owed me money for 3 years that I assume I never get back.” I remembers seeing a bill from him years earlier under the bad when I was cleaning. Anyhow narc offered to help me move without any drama. My son owned a house and was glad to have me as a renter. Of course during all of this my kids disapproved of my relationship this this man. I left him just as his son was moving away to college. His middle daughter was in college. His oldest daughter keeps “no contact” with her father or mother, I assume to protect herself. Anyhow within days of moving out and insisting that we were no longer a couple, he started trying to seduce me back into a relationship. I printed up and sat down And read to him your article “ Understanding Narcissism-Living in a narcissistic relationship”. He was kind of blank about it all. He was starting a new job as a Car Salesman of all things. I thought it was perfect fit for him. He agreed to see a counselor I recommended. He claims to have gone twice. Then he was too busy to take time off of work to go…..I caved in and was seduced again. We had a few short term breakups and then a major, 3 month separation from September through December of 2016. That was due to him accusing and me not admitting to gambling again. After admitting that I had gambled and we got back together, I quit gambling again. I moved into a new place he claimed to be buying as “contract for deed”. I actually knew the person that owned the house so I felt pretty safe about the deal. I agreed to pay rent. During the moving process he admitted to not having a bank account anymore for some sketchy reason so I would have to pay him cash instead of transferring money to his account. Then I found some papers in a coffe table we we getting rid of. There was what looked like a payday loan and a court summons from our old rental property owners. It appeared as though he was evicted. I made sure my name was cleared of that. I kept quiet about what I found. It all created my next urge to gamble which was off and on until this spring when he questioned me again and I admitted to. I expressed my feeling of loneliness, isolation, his “disapproving” attitude toward me spending time with my family or anything else that was not involving him. He denied it. I told him everything I knew about his financial issues. I expressed how his working every Saturday and rarely taking a day off for himself or us was a problem. I said I was last on his list of importance. He was more often disgruntled at home than settled and happy. He was letting household things go. No improvements. Things that needed attention went undone. There was no plans for joining in the care of finances together. And it seemed I was the bad one for gambling but he seemed to think he was blameless in any of it. He withdrew from me after that. I moved to another room. I tried to get him to go to counseling with me as a couple because. I didn’t want to throw away the good things I thought we had. He chose to let it end and not participate in any conversations that had anyth8ng to do with anything he might have done wrong. Even when I finally brought up things I knew, he would just sort of space out and stare off to the side. Things came to an end on May 23rd 2018 after a disastrous vacation. I told him I didn’t want to live this way the rest of my life etc. that was the end. I moved out June 15th. I have been discarded and he claims he doesn’t next level love me. Like marriage. He thinks he’s a loner. He’s going to work on himself. He has a counselor friend advising him now. I feel terrible because I quit gambling again end of April 2018 and after several visits to counselors and no relief, feeling suicidal, I went back to gambling August 4th 2018 because I just wanted to feel better. It took my mind off of him. So now I have the 2 addictions to deal with. Narc and gambling. I still wonder if he was gambling. He assured me he was not but he is a proven liar so…..I just want to feel like my old self and move on from this muddy mess!

  13. I sat in on your webinar yesterday. It was fantastic. As are the articles, videos and ebooks. Thank you. I had an active 18 year marijuana addiction that was hidden from everyone. An addiction I was deeply ashamed about. I spent 8 years in isolation, after a drink driving charge, and falling out with everybody I loved. I hit rock bottom. And continued my addiction. Whilst managing to start my own Pilates business. I reunited with some of my old friends 18 months ago and was introduced to a potential partner. I am gay so it was a woman. After 12 years of being single (my addiction was my “relationship”) and so lonely, it felt like my fairy tale had come true. Someone loved me so much. 3 months is all it took to make me feel crazy, but my addiction allowed cognitive dissonance and for me to ignore my screaming intuition. I sent a text one night after the triangulation became too much, to say goodbye, blocked every avenue of reentry, grabbed my weed and threw it all in the lake near my house. And set about healing myself. 9 months later I have completely changed. Still a work in progress, but I have a little business, great friends, I have removed any toxic people and I am not angry anymore. I understand why I used and had so many toxic people throughout life, and am now a codependent in recovery. Most importantly, I am incredibly grateful the universe sent me what I call a tower moment, my narcissist. The moment I realised I had to change. To wake up from the damage I have been doing to myself, and my codependency. I am getting tested this week as I have been ignoring a possible STD i picked up. Her exes are all still in the supply chain, she said terrible things about them all, and I get many calls from private numbers, but I will never speak to her again. Ever. It is sad to me in the lesbian community how many girls I now know are trapped in narcissistic relationships by damaged women. I have 2 different friends each in one at the moment. And others trapped in the supply chain. I intend to recover sufficiently, learn to love myself wholey and hopefully one day have the tools to help others in the same predicament. Thank you for shedding light on such an incredibly important topic that is not understood by many. Lifesaving angel.

    1. Hi Rebecca,

      That’s wonderful that you joined my awebinar and you had such a wonderful experience in it.

      It is so your time to heal Lovely Lady and I’m really happy for you that you are on your way.

      You will find NARP so powerfully healing for everything you are overcoming and your True Self who you are becoming.

      Mel 🙏💕❤️

  14. Thank you so much for this information. I am now in the process of separating from my husband (25 year porn addiction and narcissist). Now that I am standing up for myself I am receiving horrible treatment. Yelling, mocking, sarcasm and a very demanding attitude.

    I am angry at myself that I did not leave sooner. My normal changed slowly and I absorbed it over time until it became evident it was indeed far from normal. I need to let go of the “wishing I was stronger and wiser mindset”….

    I can taste the freedom…

  15. Thank you Google!! And thank you Mel for writing this piece 🙂

    I ended an 18 month relationship with my ex 2 months ago, he was definitely an addict and most certainly a narcissist.

    I’d manage to get myself into a relationship with a very charming, loveable, former rouge, who gave me the attention I’d been craving for decades, he made me laugh like no other and our physical connection was electric. We couldn’t get enough of each other.
    On the flip side he had not long been released from prison, had PTSD, couldn’t travel, couldn’t have children, didn’t drive yet, no secure job yet, ADHD & a history of substance abuse. I knew all of these things from the start.
    I’m pretty certain now he love-bombed the crap out of me at the beginning! Calling me his Angel & soulmate, that he’d never felt like this before, he thought he’d been in love in the past but this was different and real, and he’d never met anyone like me. We fell for each other very quickly and ALL the red flags that popped up, I chose to ignore and told myself that “we’re in love and we could overcome anything!”. After all, he planned to appeal his unjust sentence to give him the freedom he deserved & this in turn would lift a lot of his restrictions.
    Over our time together I continually compromised and sacrificed so very much for him, including my mental and physical well being. The constant chaos & stress manifested itself into monthly violent vomiting episodes. When I wasn’t vomiting, I was comfort eating resulting in a little weight gain and eroding self esteem.

    He always had some crisis, conflict or injury/pain, brought drugs into my tranquil home, stole from me, lied to me, took advantage of me, neglected me, lived off of me, promised me it would get better, had a severe mental breakdown and suicide attempt.
    I finally stood up for myself and ended it with him, he told me I’d never find anyone that loved me like he did & constantly threw my own struggles in my face that functional partners would support without question. I suffered a traumatic ex-police dog attack 2 months after we met, through no fault of my own, and my recovery & unfamiliar PTSD was always a source of guilt trips. The most traumatic thing I’ve ever endured and I wasn’t supported to go through my own process.

    Just writing all this makes me scream at myself, “OMG WHAT WERE YOU THINKING????”, but my fabulous therapist assures me it’s perfectly normal to be sucked into their sticky deceptive web. Plus I’m sure he really did/does love me in his own dysfunctional way.

    When I ended it I told him to go back home to his family & friends to reconnect with them, sort himself out and achieve all the big plans he was always talking about. I suggested we check in with each other after 3 months.
    But he couldn’t leave me alone, texting his love for me one minute, then anger when I didn’t comply and give him what he wanted. When contact was good and after 1 month I caved and he came back for 4 nights – 2 more than I agreed to. It was nice and sexy to start with but quickly ended up in conflict and his usual chaos. I couldn’t wait for him to leave again!

    He promised he wasn’t self medicating once he was back in his hometown and he was starting to achieve some of the things he talked about. After another attempt to keep me tethered, he finally got the message (I hope) that we were over and he needed to redirect all his energy into getting better and becoming fully functional. He threw his toys again but not before there were tears!
    
I just found out he’s been using this whole time and had some pretty messy blow outs this past week, causing more stress to his poor family. They all fully support my decision to split up with him, and never understood why I was even with him! I’ve been warned that he is so out of control, he may end up back in prison or dead, and under no circumstances should I ever blame myself for it. But they just wanted to warn me and prepare for that dreaded phone call.
    It’s been said over and over that if he really cared for and loved me as much as he says, he would do whatever it took to get better. This statement helps me detach from him more and more, and see him for who he really is at the moment. Of course I still have love for him, and care about what happens to him. I sincerely hope he manages to pull himself together to become the hero of his own story.

    Needless to say he is now blocked full-time, but every time he attempts to contact me is another nail in our relationship coffin. I can’t see how I could possibly be with him now. I am resolute in my decision, I have my peace back and that is priceless. I can feel myself coming back but even better than ever, and can’t wait to see who I really am!

    I’m discovering why I choose to be with tortured souls like him (he was the worst by far) and that I needed this one last relationship to shake me out of the pattern I keep repeating. I am so grateful for that, albeit a tough & exhausting lesson.
    I have felt a significant shift deep within myself and even writing this is making me feel stronger and more determined than ever.

    I want a man who has his shit together!! But before I fall in love with him, I need to fall in love with myself… because I am an astonishing woman to love!

    Much love 😉

  16. “her soul became more important than bricks and mortar” – wow ! What a beautiful way to put it.. I LOVE that ! Wonderful article Melanie. I have been reading your articles for the past 2 months and with each new article I read, it piques my interest and I get more and more fascinated and amazed. You are an incredible soul doing fantastic work and truly making this world a better place! Kudos.

    Btw, I am starting on the NARP program today 🙂

    Lots and Lots of love

  17. Man, what Jenny said above…I can relate! I went through something similar with an ex-narc I dated years ago, and also with my husband.
    I wouldn’t say he is a narc but there are some tendencies I’ve noticed.

    There was a period of several years where he refused to have sex with me, unless he felt like it on rare occasions. I would ask him why? Was there somebody else? I blamed myself…maybe it was my fault.
    At the time, I had become overweight and was extremely self-conscious.
    I also blamed myself for being unemployed at the time, having depression, etc. But I still loved him and always remained faithful.
    I also came to realize that he never wanted children, although he told me he did before we were married. That drove me deeper into depression because I always wanted a family.

    He never admitted to cheating but looking back, the signs were there.
    He rarely wanted sex (not with me, anyway). He made comments implying that he didn’t find me attractive. I found that he had visited interactive porn sites, and there were times when he would leave home while it was dark outside, supposedly to go to the gym.
    Once he went on a business trip and when he returned, I found a bottle of Astroglide in his overnight bag.
    When I asked him about it, he replied “a man has needs”. And yet…he wasn’t meeting MY needs as a husband should.
    I still wonder if there was somebody he was seeing at that time.

    I felt lonely and ugly. I ate a very poor diet, I was fat for the first time in my life, and I wanted to hide from the world.
    I just didn’t feel feminine anymore.
    He also made me feel bad about being unable to get a job, calling me a “moocher”. After that, I became more careful about spending money and only bought things that were absolutely needed.
    Then there are the two female coworkers that he seems to be close to at work.
    I’ve told him that I’m uncomfortable with some of the texts I have seen, and I don’t like the fact that one of them was alone with him in his car.
    He blew off my concerns as “insecurity”.

    And then, finally…there is his renewed interest in an ex-girlfriend who broke up with him in 1988.
    1988! Which is over 30 years ago. To my knowledge, there has been no contact between them.
    She has been married for many years and has children. From looking her up, I also learned that she has some health problems.
    His mother even told me that he never got over this person. This year, I spent months agonizing over the thought that (in addition to all I said above) he could still be in love with another woman.
    I cried about it, I raged, I just couldn’t understand. A few people told me I was the problem…that I was crazy and irrational, no wonder he would miss his ex! But that was just gaslighting on top of the pain.
    And what hurt more (just as much as the hateful comments trolls were leaving me online) is that he didn’t seem to care how much I was hurting.

    He didn’t comfort me. He didn’t say “you’re beautiful to me and I don’t want her”.
    And the thing is, I’ve slimmed down again. I’m almost 40 and in great shape again.
    I’m not a model, but I think I’m pretty…prettier than the ex-girlfriend (hope that doesn’t sound narcissistic. But it’s true).
    So I know it’s not my looks or my personality that are the issue. I think with male narcissists (not stereotyping, just stating my opinion) they will create insecurity in a wife or partner, making her doubt herself.
    I asked him what caused this nostalgia for somebody he hasn’t seen in such a long time? Why am I suddenly not enough anymore?
    And he couldn’t answer me. So I’ve tried to work on changing my feelings about the situation, since I can’t change how he or anybody else feels.

    The irony is that I’ve been watching an old show from the 80’s where the leading lady finds out that her husband of 30 years still loves his college sweetheart.
    And he continues to deny it, and gaslight his wife.

  18. Also, I confronted him recently about the time he called me a “moocher”.
    He denied it at first, laughing at me. I told him that I wasn’t crazy…I DO remember him saying that and other derogatory statements, and that it still hurt years later. And that it was wrong of him to say that because it wasn’t true.

    I don’t have a job outside the home but I am (and always have been) a very hard-working person.
    I have days where I’m extremely busy doing what is expected of me and I don’t complain. So I had to call him out for that, because disrespect is something I will no longer tolerate from anybody.
    He apologized, so that was good. I think he was a bit embarrassed because he realized that I still remembered it, and that he had in fact referred to me that way.

    So more on topic…I believe it depends on the narcissist or addict.
    They can change if they want to. But that means the person has to admit they have a problem.
    They have to want help, and to make amends to people they have hurt.
    Some narcissists are capable of this. But I’ve known plenty who will not accept responsibility, so they don’t change (my stepfather is one such person. He doesn’t see the role he plays in anything).

    Having grown up in an extremely toxic environment, I also had to unlearn some behavior that wasn’t healthy.
    I had to become a better person than the examples I had growing up. I had to develop myself internally and overcome what I could.
    So now I am older, wiser, and stronger…but very sad because of what I had to endure.

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