Dealing with a narcissist can be stressful. When you have a narcissist in your life, you constantly argue and may find it difficult to express your fears, interests, and necessities.
Here are 9 signs that you have a narcissist in your life.
Related: 5 Tips For Surviving Co-Parenting With A Narcissistic Ex
- They constantly criticize you
When narcissists talk, they criticize you and try to control the conversation.
You may think that you will be safe, despite their criticism of others. Think again – they will criticize you too!
- They destroy you.
Narcissists have no qualms about tearing down your ego to build their own. Sometimes, they may lie about events and make up stories to prove that they are better than you.
They consciously project their negative traits onto you, but hate it when you retaliate.
- They will do anything to get ahead
Narcissists lie, cheat, and will trample anyone who stands in the way of what they want. Often times, they are just trying to get ahead so they can prove their point to the people around them, which is why they never seem to care about anyone else’s feelings.
Narcissists are hypercompetitive, and they are not used to losing.
- They don’t care.
Narcissists do not feel remorse, shame, or empathy for their painful verbal and emotional abuse. On the contrary, exposing yourself to pain strengthens them.
Therefore, narcissists usually continue the cycle of abuse, because it feeds their feelings of complacency.
Related: If He Says Any Of These 5 Things, He’s Trying To Control You
- They distort your secrets.
Narcissists use everything you say against you, even when you are unaware of their motives. The secrets you think are safe with them may come back to bite you later, because they never intend to keep your secrets.
Narcissists love to disdain your most embarrassing stories, so don’t share them if someone you know behaves this way. If you do this, they will expose your weaknesses, so they can retain their sense of superiority.
- They never respect you
Every time you fight with a narcissist, you will find yourself explaining the basic definition of mutual respect and why they should respect you. They may cry and say they don’t mean to hurt you and promise that this will be the last time, but they will never change, because they intend to disrespect you.
Narcissists simply know what to say to make you stay and go against your desires to provoke you.
- They will try to control your behavior
When you know a narcissist, the traits they once applauded you for, they will eventually make fun of. They will slowly shape you into the person they want you to be, and soon you will feel like they are the puppet master in your life.
A narcissist may try to control how you dress or who you associate with, but if they do, get out!
- They will make fun of your dreams and goals.
The narcissist will ridicule your dreams and future plans to discourage you from pursuing them, so he can continue to control your life. They are often afraid that you will be more successful than you could ever be, so they will try to keep you away from your wildest dreams.
- They will blame you for everything that goes wrong.
The narcissist will blame you for his failures and irresponsible behavior so that he does not have to face the consequences of his actions. They’ll even blame you for little things, like missing their calls when they call you late, just to try to get into your head.
If you think you know a narcissist, reach out to your support system. Lean on true friends and loved ones who can help you through your relationship.
