Not feeling the need to talk about it isn't always indicative of emotional scarring. People who need help aren't always the nefarious attention seeker.
I was emotionally, physically, and mentally abused by a narcissistic sociopath. For a man to have to go through this with a woman is often marks for scores of judgment- that I can't protest because I don't meet the status quo. A catch 22 in other words.
She was one year older than me and in spite of not trusting my gut feeling to tell her off from the get-go, was seduced by the fact that she had showered me with nothing but unconditional attention and affection from the gathering of our first encounter. This would later be my undoing, and something I would subsequently learn is a trait that all narcissists have in common.
It wasn't long before I would either fall back on my original gut feelings and realize something was up or be threatened by her if I attempted to leave her. While one was a more subjective feeling and easier to hide, it was like she preyed on both of these as if they were expected.
I however, have not been in what would be considered a unadulterated affair of mutual love interest more than twice and the most recent one has been unbearable. Fuck my ex-girlfriend, she was a cunt. My best romantic affair was with a close friend who only really admired me in the same way I admired her... curiously. We never became close until I was forced to move away. I have not recovered, even after 5 years.
