Is Halloween Already Here?

No!

That doesn’t stop a narcissist from tricking you – and trust me when I say – there are no treats!…

…Are there treats when it comes to narcissism?!

Some of the biggest tricks narcissists pull have to do with their phones – specifically text messages. So how can narcissistic texting increase your control over you?

If you haven’t guessed already, the answers are here. I know some, if not all, will make you realize how much you’ve been putting up with all this time.

Narcissist and the Phone

It’s a painful conversation that we need more of, right? Narcissists get to us, no matter where we are or what we’re doing thanks to the magic of the modern world.

We all have phones. We all use them. We all need them in this day and age where work and communication are just a click away.

Narcissists love to use their text messages too, especially the fancy text messages that have gained so much popularity in the past few decades.

What was once an opportunity to tell someone something has evolved into the dawn of an endless conversation with multiple people, day and night.

Narcissists love this more than anything else. They love knowing that anyone they want to text is just 20 seconds away from making it happen.

Bored? Text.

Feeling like stirring up a little trouble? Text.

Need some attention? Text.

Want to give someone a bad day? Text.

Related : Watch Out: These Phone Habits Are Deadly Signs of a Narcissist

And here’s the one thing to remember with narcissists – it’s not always the text – sometimes it’s the content.

Control: The Unbreakable Narcissistic Power

All narcissists want, love, and need control. It’s a power you’ll never be able to break, because it’s what makes narcissists narcissists.

People like you or me are happy to sit back and admit that we can’t control every aspect of our lives, yet this seems unfathomable to any narcissist.

They need to control situations that they want to see a certain outcome. They want to shape the ending as their own story that they write…

And if that means you or someone you know has to suffer in the end, so be it.

With texting, narcissists become the most impossible, hurtful, and evil type of person who only seeks one thing – to create drama.

Trick 1: “Don’t forget about me!”

The good old texting trick of not wanting to be forgotten will work with all narcissists.

They love to remind you of their existence, and they’re especially good at doing so when you’re having a particularly good day.

If you arrange to go out with a friend, they’ll try to engage in all sorts of conversations with you via text, so you feel obligated to respond and keep them happy.

And to you, the victim, you think, “Wow, they seem to be having a lot of fun. They’re clearly in a great mood, and I don’t like being ignored.”

You’re eager to please others.

You’re eager to keep the ship sailing.

But in reality, just because you’re out there they want you to remember who they are.

It’s so sad, isn’t it?

That someone who is so confident is so far from it?

Welcome to narcissism, people!

Trick 2: “Oh. I’ll respond another time”

When you need to reach out to them, the narcissist will act as indifferent as possible. They see your priority, your request, or your attempt to reach out, and they will completely ignore you.

You see, what matters to you doesn’t matter to the narcissist at all. They make sure you don’t give them what you want or need most of the time you know them, and seeing that you’ve sent them messages doesn’t mean much to them.

In fact, it’s the text version of the silent treatment, and what does it do to victims?

It makes them wonder what they did wrong, and why they’re being ignored.

Trick 3: “The Bottom Line”

Okay.

Sure.

Whatever.

Yes.

No.

Okay.

Now – I want to talk about why the bottom line is, because it’s a really unfair way to treat someone.

First, you have someone trying to engage in conversation, and that’s hard to do when you’re being met with one-word answers all the time.

Second, what does it show you? It shows you that yes, they can respond, but no, they’re not giving you what you need. Then victims fall into the trap of asking, “What’s wrong? You’re silent.”

Accusation!

The responses to this usually go something like this:

I’m busy!

I don’t have time to sit around all day like you, texting!

Someone has to work!

You’re so needy!

You’ll never win.

Trick 4: “Block/Unblock”

I want you, I don’t want you.

I love you, I don’t love you.

I want to hear from you/stop calling or texting.

You never know where you stand with some narcissists, but the way they dictate when you can text, and when you can’t, is very cruel and of course – completely controlling.

Related : Find Out How Narcissists Turn Every Phone Call Into a Power Play

Victims have been known to constantly check their phones to see if the narcissist has blocked them that day, which is very unhealthy.

Trick 5: “Hang the phone”

Well, that’s it.

The phone is off, so even if you want to text, it won’t go away anytime soon.

If you think that sounds cruel, that’s because it is.

Narcissists don’t care about your calls, or even if there’s an emergency. They just want to control the narrative that sometimes there’s no signal, or my phone died, or I was asleep.

Stop it. You’re adults.

Trick 6: “What text?”

It’s funny how any narcissist will deny they got your text.

I didn’t get anything…

Never believe them. Phones are more efficient now than ever, and you can tell if someone’s phone received a text.

The simple fact is that they got the message, they just didn’t click on it.

What a terrible way to tell you that you don’t matter to them and keep you under their control for a little while longer.

Trick 7: “Dial. Dial again”

Alex, do you think this person is a narcissist?

Related : You’re Shocked to See Where Narcissists Really End Up

It’s hard to diagnose someone with NPD from a few text messages, but there are huge red flags when you receive a text from someone with NPD (usually a request), and they don’t respond right away.

What usually follows is:

A GIF of some sort.

A single kiss.

A picture or meme. A single question mark.

A text message about something they know will interest you deeply to get your attention.

These are basically ways a narcissist says:

I texted you, you didn’t reply, and I’m not going anywhere.

We know…