SEVEN WAYS NARCISSISTIC ABUSE IMPACTS YOUR BRAIN

By: Khalif Barkhadle,
Digital Journalist

Published On: 7th May 2025

When you’re in a relationship with a narcissist, your brain becomes overwhelmed by constant emotional manipulation, gaslighting, and unpredictable mood swings. Over time, this takes a serious toll on your mental health and cognitive abilities, making you feel like you’re going crazy, like your brain isn’t working properly. And that’s because it isn’t.

1. Memory Problems
One of the most common complaints from those who have experienced narcissistic abuse is memory impairment. You may struggle to recall simple things, such as appointments, conversations, or recent events. This isn’t just normal forgetfulness or aging, it’s a direct result of the intense mental and emotional stress caused by the narcissist.

The constant manipulation and gaslighting keep you in a state of fight-or-flight, flooding your brain with cortisol and other stress hormones. These hormones interfere with the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for forming, processing, storing, and retrieving memories.

Day after day, your mental energy is consumed by the narcissist’s chaos, leaving little cognitive bandwidth for everyday tasks. Even when you do remember things accurately, the narcissist may distort or invalidate your recollections, causing you to doubt yourself and lose trust in your memory. They may even use this against you, suggesting you have dementia.
2. Memory…