When you leave a narcissistic relationship—or it leaves you—it can feel like waking up in a familiar room that no longer feels like home. The bed is the same. The view from the window hasn’t changed. But your nervous system is in pieces, and your sense of self is shattered.
Narcissistic abuse doesn’t always leave bruises. It leaves you doubting your own memories, minimizing your pain, and questioning whether any of it was “real.” You replay conversations, searching for the moment things twisted. You feel shame for not seeing it sooner. You wonder why you still miss someone who caused you harm.
In my own life, I spent years in this kind of relationship—on edge, over-functioning, always scanning for the next emotional storm. I came to understand that the trauma wasn’t only in what was done to me. It was in how I had to abandon myself in order to stay.
Somatic therapy helped me come back to myself—not in a single dramatic breakthrough, but in small, steady acts of reconnection:
• Feeling safe enough to breathe deeply again
• Recognizing the early signs of self-betrayal
• Rebuilding the capacity to trust my gut
• Learning how to be in my body without bracing
The healing process is rarely linear. Some days feel strong and sovereign. Other days, you’re triggered by a scent, a tone, a dream. But even in the hardest moments, there’s dignity in choosing to heal.
If you’ve been through this kind of relationship, know that the part of you that still hurts is also the part that knows how to love, how to feel, how to care. That is not a weakness. That is your humanity returning.
Come home to your body. Awaken your aliveness.
Mariel Camilleri, BSc., MSc.Ad