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General Ptsd or narcissism?

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Charley25

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Hi, can anyone explain the difference between PTSD and Narcissism? After 2 years of verbal abuse from family member that a year ago she was apparently diagnosed with PTSD, after something that happened a long time ago. The lack of remorse for her social media bullying towards us and the cruel words has me questioning what we are dealing with, but because I have a lack of knowledge in both areas hoping someone can shed some light on this. If it is ptsd would be so much easier to forgive & forget and help support her.
 
Posting stupid attacking comments on social media? Can be a symptom of many mental health disorders or none at all.

Also, PTSD and narcissism can exist together. They are also very different disorders.

PTSD is not an excuse to be a jerk, and being a narcissist doesn’t rule out having legit PTSD and a legit trauma history.

Can you be more specific?
 
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Posting stupid attacking comments on social media? Can be a symptom of many mental health disorders...
Posting stupid attacking comments on social media? Can be a symptom of many mental health disorders...

So she is my husbands sister. She lashes out with no remorse. It doesnt matter how much she hurts us, she is the victim. When Ive reached out to try and understand her numerous times, she is only too willing to talk about her past & how much its affected her. So I end up feeling sorry for her & then it gets thrown back in face when the unprovoked anger rears its head again a few weeks later. She attempted to turn family against me, by saying things Ive never said to her & quite frankly would never say to anyone. Sometimes I think she overthinks a situation to the point she loses sight of reality. The ptsd was diagnosed after her sexual assault 15yrs ago, she was drugged by someone that she was dating & remembers very little from the night. She has received counselling over the years but she didnt feel they helped her. Shes been verbally nasty to my husband about both him & me and if he tells her to cut out the nasty comments about me, all hell breaks loose. She has never actually said anything nasty directly to me, its only been on social media or to family members. She blames me for the distance between her & my husband, but doesnt seem to realise her words have done that. I do feel sorry for her and I want her to be happy, but I cant take much more of this abuse.
 
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Assholes get PTSD, too. It's just a disorder, not a prediction of personality.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder, on the other hand is predictive of personality, as it's a personality disorder. The thing is, though, not every self centered bitch with an axe to grind is NPD. Or even narcissistic. Just like every abusive asshole isn't a psychopath. Most "psychos" & "narcissists" wouldn't even come anywhere near qualifying for either personality disorder, they just suck.
 
Assholes get PTSD, too. It's just a disorder, not a prediction of personality.

Narcissistic Personality...

So basically having ptsd isn't the reason she's nasty, she's just a cow that happens to have ptsd? Thanks for your reply, it's good to get someone else's opinion that has more knowledge of ptsd.
 
See, the thing is that untreated PTSD can indeed manifest as lashing out and treating everyone like crap. I’ve been there. It’s not a fun place to be. Did my diagnosis give me a free pass? Oh heck no! I’ve gotten some understanding, but at the end of the day it’s still my responsibility to push forward with my healing. Your sister in law has the power to make the same choices. She has the power to choose to try and heal, just as much as she has the power to choose to be an asshole.

Don’t give her a free pass just because she’s had a traumatic past. It is hard, but boundary setting can be one of the best things you can do for someone who has been through trauma and is symptomatic.
 
See, the thing is that untreated PTSD can indeed manifest as lashing out and treating everyone li...
Thanks Eve, that gives me a bit of clarity. From what I've read most ptsd sufferers that do lash out, are usually always remorseful straight away. That is the difference with my sister in law and I started to feel like her emotional punching bag. Putting boundaries in place sounds like a good idea :)
 
@EveHarrington makes a good point. They can sometimes appear the same. As a supporter currently on the receiving end of isolation, I have been discussing a lot of things with my therapist to try and maintain a healthy perspective. I have been through a lot of narcissistic relationships and have been putting in time, effort and have gone through extensive therapy to break the habit. I was concerned I had fallen into the "narc love bomb" trap yet again, despite all my hard work, but this time I realize that even though it has manifested the same....the underlying causes could not be more different. It makes it slightly less painful...but challenging nonetheless.
 
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