How prolonged exposure to a malignant narcissist erodes identity, distorts reality, and leaves marks you can see in the mirror By Joe Navarro, M.A and Dr. Deb Lieberman, PhD Not all psychological wounds are visible. Some accumulate slowly, across months or years, disguised as ordinary relationship stress—until the day a person looks in the mirror and no longer recognizes the face looking back. That moment of estrangement is one of the most telling signs of chronic narcissistic abuse.