Short Q&A-style segment from a YouTube video where Ashok Gupta addresses whether one must separate from a person with severe narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) to heal. He advises that separation — temporary or permanent — may be important when continual severe narcissistic traits retraumatize a 'wounded child,' preventing adult healing, but emphasizes the decision depends on the severity and context.
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Does one need to get away from the NPD in order to heal? As I mentioned to the previous question, it really depends on how severe the NPD is. If you are in a relationship or there is a parent in your life where there is continual severe narcissistic traits that are impacting on you, just like we've described in this presentation, then I would say it would be very important that you are able to separate from that person when, whether it be temporarily or permanently, to be able to heal your inner core. Because if you're still stuck in that dynamic in that relationship, then all that's happening is the wounded child. Tina the ballerina is constantly being retriggered. It's not as if the situation is still back in childhood. It's real here and now. So how can the child within you grow up and become an adult and heal if the same dynamic is running from so many years, from so many decades? So you may need to get away from the person to heal if it's depending on the severity of it. But I can't give you that answer.
