I’m not kidding when I say narcissists are skilled thieves.

However, they don’t steal the usual things (at least not always!).

Instead, they sneak up on you and take what you haven’t allowed them to.

With a touch of charm and manipulation, they’ll gradually take what’s most important from you. This happens subtly, often without you even noticing, and then you find yourself exhausted, doubting yourself, and wondering how it got this far.

What exactly do they steal? I’ll show you!

Like A Thieve In The Night!

Isn’t it always unexpected with a narcissist? The way they steal from you secretly is the same way they take what’s yours, even when they’re fully aware of the extent of their theft.

Every now and then, I hear people say, “He literally took everything from me,” and I often think, “You know what?

They don’t limit themselves to one thing. They don’t care about the details; they want it all.”

I see the pain and sadness these people experience when they wake up to what’s happening.

Why The Taking?

I know for a fact that narcissists have nothing. Even those who own all those expensive cars and houses have nothing, because what I’m talking about isn’t material goods at all.

They take away parts of you that you can’t see, feel, or touch, but you know are there. And the reason they do this is because they can’t see them on you anymore.

The smile you once had, that so easily lit up any room you walked into—they’ll wipe it off. It shouldn’t shine that brightly.

The joy you feel when Christmas arrives and you love building a nest and hanging a tree—they’ll try to escalate the conflict. You shouldn’t be so happy.

Whatever you have and they want, They’ll steal it from you.

10 Things Narcissists Steal From You

1 Inner Peace

I’ll start with this one!

There’s no point in looking for inner peace while you’re spending a lot of time with a narcissist, because you won’t get it.

It’s not what you want to hear, but the truth is, they’ll steal it from you as soon as they can.

You need to understand that narcissists don’t like your peace. They don’t like your ability to regulate your emotions, handle life’s stresses, and balance all your responsibilities.

And I’m sure you have tough days like most of us, right? But your ability to maintain your inner peace and realize that you’re capable of it is unacceptable to them.

So—sadly, yes—they’ll steal it from you because they want to see you as a mass of anxiety and depression.

2 Your Self-Esteem

Just when you think your self-esteem is at a healthy level, it’s taken away from you.

You won’t even realize it’s been taken away. You’ll wake up one day and decide you’re not good enough for that job. You won’t wear that dress anymore. You no longer believe you’re good at your hobbies.

And the day will come when you realize something has been taken from you. Something you’ve had your whole life, down to that last piece that brought your world crashing down.

Your self-esteem controls everything you do. It’s like a little cheerleader in your soul, and now it’s gone…

…thanks to the narcissist.

3 Who You Are

Identity is what makes us. It shapes every aspect of our lives. Without it, we wouldn’t know who we are.

This can lead to grievous mistakes or decisions that don’t serve us. We might fall into bad habits. Our values are completely eroded. We don’t fit into anything because there’s nothing to work with.

I’ll tell you what happens.

The narcissist steals parts of your identity. He takes your way of thinking and replaces it with confusion.

He takes your love of creating at home every Tuesday night and replaces it with his favorite TV show.

Your love of baking is replaced by takeout or pre-prepared meals.

Everything you love and cultivate in your heart is being taken away.

4 Energy Savers! Imagine a balloon that’s full, but just before you tie it, you release it little by little until you’re left with an old, worn, wrinkled balloon that doesn’t look like it.

I can’t help but liken this to the way a narcissist drains your energy, a little bit each day until you realize there’s nothing left.

You’re just a shadow of your former self, and you no longer recognize yourself.

If you offer any kind of energy or joy, be prepared for the narcissist to steal it from you. They don’t use it for themselves, but taking it brings them that joy.

5 Your Precious Time

Time is a soul killer, isn’t it? All the time you wasted trying to convince them to love you or keep their promises.

Years of hoping things would change, and they never did. The narcissist stole your time to keep you addicted and subservient to their control.

I can’t sugarcoat that.

6 Any Hope You Have

That hope you mentioned is obvious. Victims truly hope the relationship will last, that it will somehow flourish, that you will recover from the conflict, or simply be who they promised you would be.

The hope is taken from the way they treat you, yet you stay with them because they apologize and promise to change.

They never do.

7 Your Privacy

If you want privacy, you can forget it!

The narcissist doesn’t care what you want to keep sacred. Your phone is their phone. Your life is their life. They want to know everything you do, every part of you so they can monitor you.

This is all part of their plan to control you even more than they already do.

8 Your Independence

When you meet a narcissist, you may have a lot going on in your life.

Over time, they’ll take these things away from you. Your hobbies. The book club you go to every Tuesday. Your Sunday morning run. The job you go to.

Even when it comes to finances, the narcissist will create a dependent, clingy person around you that you’ll never let go.

9 Your Sense of Security

All we want is to feel safe with the person we love and share a relationship with. There’s nothing about narcissists that makes us feel safe. Think about how uncertain you feel all the time around them.

What’s their mood like?

How would they react to this or that?

Are they cheating?

No one needs this. Your safety will be pulled out from under your feet like a rug.

10 People Around You

They’ll sneak up on you if they want to be close friends with your brother. If they see your close friends, they’ll want to hang out with you every night. They’ll always put their best foot forward, eventually taking advantage of you by:

Telling them your secrets

Getting rid of problems

Telling them how needy or controlling you are

Talking about intimate moments

Nothing will be sacred anymore.