Okay, let me give you a piece of advice before we continue:

Never believe a narcissist when they tell you you can’t live without them.

This is a lie designed to destroy your self-confidence and abilities.

You can function. You can succeed.

With these 10 things you can do without a narcissist, you’ll live your best life ever!

1 Make Friends

Can you imagine forming real relationships with people you trust and depend on?

What a strange concept that may sound like to you right now, if that’s your situation, but let me assure you, it can be a reality.

When you’re with a narcissist—someone who doesn’t know how to have and keep real friends—you’ll lose the ability to believe you can be different from them.

You’ll notice how they’ll try to convince you that “you don’t need anyone else, I’m with you.”

Well, that’s the one thing you should be afraid of. It’s not normal to have no one, but a narcissist will think it’s okay to have no one, and in fact, will be happy about it.

Having no friends means they’ll have complete control over you, and they’ll be able to manipulate you without anyone to save you.

2 Enjoy Intimacy

While you may think you enjoyed the narcissist’s company, you likely enjoyed knowing you were pleasing them for a while rather than making it a private, mutual moment between the two of you.

Physical intimacy is the same with all narcissists, but can I just say this? So is emotional intimacy.

You’ll get to a point with them, and that’s it. After that, they’ll shut down and shut down because they find the whole thing uncomfortable.

If you’re without them, you’ll likely find yourself so emotionally regulated that the concept of intimacy will feel completely new to you.

Don’t let this scare you—that’s okay.

3 Find Peace

It all boils down to peace. I find this to be the path that all forms of narcissistic abuse should and will eventually lead you to, as long as you leave them behind.

Peace is a sense of calm without fear of impending chaos. With narcissists, you may feel some of it, like it’s just a preview. But it’ll quickly fade when they start to reappear.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Peace can be permanent. It can restore your mind and body to where they belong. It can be where you live and stay.

4 Share the Good Times

You know, the good times you crave but never find in their company?

The happy times when you can be yourself, and they can be them, and you don’t have to worry about that fleeting glance from a crowded room that makes you dread the commute home?

It’s possible. And it doesn’t mean you need someone else to love. You can have good times alone, or with friends. Travel. Have dinner. Drink wine. Watch a movie. Laugh.

Without the narcissist, the good times won’t be clouded by the expected gray clouds of control and manipulation.

Without narcissists, there is light, I promise. So seek it.

5 Feel Safe

You think you’re safe with them, but what you’re experiencing is a distorted version of the security they want you to feel.

It’s not real, it’s not consistent. And just because they handle the finances and control every other aspect of your life together doesn’t give you any more security than you can give yourself.

Without them, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You’ll be able to build the life you want, with all the little details that make you feel secure like you’ve never felt before.

Without them, you can finally be free.

6 Feel Comfort

Who’s there for you when things go wrong? Relationships require two people who offer support and love, not just when things are going as planned, but also when they aren’t.

If you’re sick or stressed at work, you need someone to come home to listen to you, someone you can count on.

If you’re single, you can have a group of friends who can help you, and you can learn how to relieve stress through relaxing methods like meditation, taking long baths, or taking long weekend walks.

You won’t get any of these opportunities when you’re with a narcissist.

7 Find True Love

How do you find the right person when you’re stuck with a homeless person?

Love is out there for all of us. You have to give yourself opportunities to explore your community, get out, make friends, and go from there.

You can’t do that while you’re confined to the company of an abusive narcissist.

It’s a waste of life. If you want love, you have to admit to yourself that the narcissist isn’t that person.

But that person is out there, waiting for you somewhere right now.

8 Respect

You deserve respect, but that’s never going to happen if you’re stuck living or staying with a narcissist.

When you ask, they never answer. Why? Because their relationship with you isn’t one of respect, it’s one of compliance.

You have to abide by their rules and obey them.

Being treated this way is so confusing. I mean, you want to love and be loved, you want a happy ending, but it never ends that way.

You want someone loyal, appreciative, kind, and present, but instead you become selfish, cold, critical, and absent.

Without them, you can find the right people in your life.

9 Express Your Truth

Without fear of repercussions. Truth doesn’t necessarily mean you have permission to be rude or mean; it means you recognize and maintain your reality.

You can hold onto something you experience without it being taken away from you and replaced by their reality.

If you’re confident and committed to what you believe, it will stay that way. And you know what else? You have the confidence to stand up for your beliefs, for the truth, without being forced into silence.

10 Achieve Your Potential

I liken narcissistic abuse to putting a ceiling on those who are destined to have the sky as their limit.

You’re forced to live in a narrow hole when you have so much more to strive for and become.

Your potential is diminished by narcissists because they like to keep you smaller than them—less successful, less competent, and less noisy. They like you to be a side dish when you should be the main course.

Without them, the sky becomes the limit again, and you learn that you are capable of doing anything you want.