If you are a victim of abuse, you may have Narcissistic Abuse Syndrome (NAS). However, narcissistic abuse is a very specific form of relational violence where the abuser exhibits the signs of severe or malignant narcissism. Narcissistic abuse may occur in relationships, where the narcissistic person tends to seek out a partner in order to gain admiration of his or her own attributes. This is called narcissistic supply. The narcissist creates a dynamic abuser and victim relationship through a cycle of abuse resulting in traumatic bonding that makes it hard for their partner to leave the increasingly abusive relationship. Narcissistic Abuse can also take place between parent and child. Often if left untreated, the child may become involved in abusive relationships as an adult.

Narcissistic abuse syndrome exhibits many of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including:

• Intrusive thoughts or memories
• Physical-emotional reactions to reminders of trauma
• Nightmares and flashbacks (feeling as if event is happening again)
• Avoidance of thoughts, people or situations associated with the trauma
• Negative thoughts about self and world
• Distorted sense of blame related to trauma
• Sense of detachment or isolation from other people
• Difficulty concentrating and, or sleeping
• Hyper-vigilance, irritability, easily startled