Narcissist Behavior Q&A
🌱 If they might change, do I have to stay?
The possibility that they'll someday change creates no duty to stay and sacrifice beside them. Your physical and emotional safety, right now, comes first.
The short answer
Even if they change someday, enduring the years in between is not your obligation.
Scenes like this
- They'd started therapy, so you should wait for the results.
- They held on by saying that without you, they could never change.
How to tell the difference
Whether they change is theirs. Whether you stay is your choice, made now.
When this happens, try this
- Instead of hazy future promises, write honestly what's actually in front of you — their present behavior and the psychological weight you carry.
- Remember: wishing them well from a distance and leaving to protect your own life are perfectly separate matters.