The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC After reading several articles on narcissism, Kaitlyn realized that her husband was one. She knew that something was off for years but couldn’t put her finger on it. She fell in love immediately with him and within months, they were married. She thought she met the perfect person, he was charming, attentive, and sensitive. But shortly after the marriage, things changed. It seemed like overnight he went from charming to demanding, attentive to dismissive, and sensitive to heartless. Everything was Kaitlyn’s fault and the harder she tried, the more he expected. Exhausted and overwhelmed, Kaitlyn slipped into a depression that lasted for years. She stopped caring and gave up on her relationship and herself. During a random Google search, Kaitlyn stumbled on narcissism. The more she read, the more her eyes were opened to the reality of her life. It was as if a light began to shine in the darkness of her heart. Newly determined to make...

By: Brian Murray LMHC Narcissists have a unique way of looking at the world. Their way of thinking and perceiving is different than almost 90% of the world around them so they can be hard to understand and even more difficult to love. Their emotions can become intense and out of proportion with the situation they are faced with due to their skewed perceptions and beliefs. Because of these underlying deviations from cultural expectations, their behavior comes across as arrogant, boastful, intense and they have difficulty with interpersonal functioning. These enduring patterns are lifelong and can usually be traced back to adolescent or even childhood. Narcissist behaviors are inflexible, lack empathy and have a strong need for admiration. Even if they haven’t done anything to deserve special recognition, they still expect to be treated as such. Some people who are not savvy to the ways of a narcissist may challenge the narcissistic behaviors and this is where trouble b...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC Sam saw a pattern. After her narcissistic husband would explode combining verbal assaults with mental and emotional abuse, he seemed calmer for several weeks. Then, as if there was a timer set on his frustration tolerance, one minute comment could spark the abusive rage again. The rages were awful. He would call her names, twist the truth, throw things at her, exaggerate her intentions, guilt-trip her into believing this rage was her fault, and even physically block her so she couldn’t leave the room. Unlike other non-narcissistic abusive people, her husband would not take any responsibility for his actions. He refused to apologize and instead made a game out of getting her to apologize for his poor behavior. Sam accepted the guilt just to keep the peace and it would work for about six weeks. During this time, he was charming, pleasant, and would give her material gifts almost as if this was the only way he could say sorry. But then the...