They break you
And then they hate you
For being broken

They lie to you
Then they despise you
For seeing the truth

They abuse you
Then they unfriend and block you
As though YOU did something wrong

When they run out of supply
They will swoop back in
With fake promises, false repentance, and imitation love

Never go back
To the ones who broke you —
A tiger does not change his stripes.

–Linda Lee, copyright 2017

~ ~ ~

I just want to clarify that people CAN change, heal, and grow, if they really want to, and if they are willing to do the hard work that is required. My husband and I are proof that this is true, we have both come a very long way since our respective PTSD issues were diagnosed.

However, it has been my experience that the majority of narcissistic abusers do not change. The many books and articles I have read on the topic agree that it is very rare for abusers to give up their manipulative ways. In my lifetime, I have gone back again and again to users and abusers, hoping that this time things would be different. But the “difference” was always very short-lived. No more!