Emotional Abuse During Divorce: Coping With a Narcissist . . .

A client sent me a link today to an article that seems very appropos in many divorces where domestic abuse, including physical, emotional and economic abuse are occurring. Often, it's not until the divorce is in progress that an abused spouse will recognise or acknowledge the abuse. Some of the worst abuse come from a narcissist. See here the Mayo Clinic's description of the narcissistic personality disorder.

Often, a narcissist's emotional abuse towards a spouse escalates during divorce. The good news: abused spouses can minimize the impact of abuse by learning what games narcissists play--but only if they learn to recognize the symptoms and learn how to defend against and deflect the abuse.

A narcissist’s emotional abuse of a spouse doesn’t start once divorce papers are signed. Most often it has been going on for years. Yet once a divorce begins, a narcissist’s abuse intensifies as he or she fears looking bad or at fault. It doesn’t matter whether the divorce was filed by the abused spouse or the narcissist. The dread of exposure fuels the narcissist’s abusive behavior. For the abused spouse, identifying these abusive behaviors is the first step in minimizing the impact.

Read more at Suite101: Emotional Abuse During Divorce: Coping With a Narcissist When a Marriage Breaks Up