Understanding what you are up against is huge. Once you have that perspective, although things dont get any easier, at least you know what you are up against. Support is essential. As well as my ex wife, her mother and her daughter from her first marriage all display signs of narcissism too so there is an element of genetics involved. My ex also had severe OCD and apparently people with that condition are prone to other personlaity disorders. Ns have to belive that they are perfect and entitled. It is the way they control their world. When questioned or criticised it all goes wrong very quickly because they will do anything to keep that feeling of being the centre of their own universe. From my experience being in a relationship is exhausting as you coinstntly have to feed their egos. You never buold up any brownie points. Every day is a clean slate and you have to start feeding all over again. The best term I have heard for them is emotional vampires. It feels like they suck the very life force from you. The trouble is that they are usually very charming and charismatic so people who arent involved with them on a daily basis rarely see the problem.