The need for people to discern between natural behavior and those beyond those basics is critical to talk with when we want to stop narcissistic abuse. But because narcissists have a way of concealing themselves as one of the victims, people tend to fail to recognize them. They can even disguise themselves to be charming to continue to play and abuse vulnerable people. To help you avoid being poorly mistreated by these narcissists, here are 8 clear signs to identify a narcissist:
Number 1: Narcissists Wrapped Up In Their Own Opinion.
One of the most common and early signs of narcissistic behavior is when one pushes their opinion to be the only credible opinion. They will throw questions at you that will make you feel intimidated, and they don’t agree with you most of the time during supposed debatable discussions. Narcissists highly and consistently believe that what you have to say is unimportant. They force people to agree with their idea or, compared to what narcissists have in mind, your thoughts are always inferior to them.
Number 2: The ‘Me Talk.’
It is for sure that we have engaged in conversations where we talk and share about ourselves, what we like, and what we do. Narcissists constantly bring up themselves, often exaggeratingly, that they don’t have time to listen. For narcissists, it’s all about me, myself, and I. When you notice that the subject of every conversation is about them, it is because narcissists have a sick fetish of admiring themselves, whether it’s their features, experience, or lifestyle. From then on, narcissists do not care to listen about who you are and what you have to say. They think about how to look the best in the story they tell you. Narcissists will often say, “I’m the best” or “I did this, and I’m the hero,” or something alike.
Number 3: Obsession With Status.
The persistent ‘Me Talk’ might also be connected to narcissists obsessed with their status. They unfailingly bring up their financial and career achievements whenever and in every possible way they can. Because by doing so, it feeds a narcissist’s ego. Likewise, a narcissist could not stop talking about his heroic deeds when he had one. For example, when he finds a wallet in the park and the owner comes back and claims it, he will invariably brag about this to his peers and family, even when this is just a typical circumstance that can happen to anyone on ordinary days. This is because narcissists long to have the stature of being a hero in front of everyone and love the attention they are getting for it.
Number 4: Relentlessly Requiring Validation.
Narcissists want to be in a particular group of people that continually praise them and admire them. When they put themselves down or when people can’t see how good and intelligent they think they are, their delusion of always being entitled to admiration makes you emotionally drained. So before you believe it, understand that it’s bait. They like to surround themselves with people who can sustain their egos. So conveying and expressing less appreciation to them is better. If you do this, you create one step away from coming to be their victims.
Number 5: Persistently Dismissive Of Others’ Feelings.
As they commonly say, empathy and narcissism don’t go hand in hand. Narcissists don’t have the concept of empathy or helping out unless it’s beneficial to them. While empaths have a great compassion for other people, narcissists deploy others’ feelings without feeling guilty. Specifically, narcissists will show that they are annoyed when you come to them with your problems, even when you are that reliable companion they can always count on. When they are having a bad day and when they grow frustrated and dismissive of your emotions when you call them in the middle of the night, it only reveals their lack of empathy towards you. Remember that it is better to be with someone who treats you right and not with someone who takes you for granted.
Number 6: Veiled Threats.
Have you ever been in a disagreement where the person is focused on turning down your ideas? Well, this is an obvious sign of narcissism. A person who insists on what he wants, he gets. And if you refuse, they casually say, “That doesn’t work for me,” or say, “Try me.” The ‘try me’ card is often effective as their way of threatening you that “I’m superior, and don’t you forget that.” It all comes down to their fantasized dominance towards others’ perceptions. If you have encountered this, you may just need to avoid confrontation with them the next time for obvious reasons that they are not sensible with what they are saying. Sense is essential when dealing with this type of person.
Number 7: Belittling Others.
Because narcissists extensively think they are the best and most glorious of everything, they become jealous of others that sport more potential than they can. For instance, if someone is more talented or more intelligent, it outrages them. So they make sure to make them feel they are below them. They often use personal attacks by belittling and intimidating others to declare inevitable supremacy over them. As a result, you believe that you are in no way talented and intelligent, that you lose confidence in yourself. The belittling is often the cause of many severe cases of mental health abuse. Thus, filtering out what you don’t and what you allow to enter your mind is incredibly necessary.
Number 8: Gaslighting.
This one is an interesting point. Yes, lighting equals manipulation in a way you don’t even notice that is dangerous. Gaslighting is probably the most dangerous sign of narcissism, perhaps because it is a pretentious yet effective way to control one’s emotion. Gaslighting is a tactic that narcissists use to manipulate someone by psychological means to question that someone’s sanity. The manipulation in gaslighting is long and gradually appearing. The victim doesn’t know what is happening to her. This is common when having a romantic relationship with a narcissist that may come in three phases: love bomb, devalue, and then discard.
Love Bomb:
This is the phase in which the narcissist showers you with love, affirmation, material things, and the support you need in your life. This is the nice part of their relationship as they idealize and put you on a pedestal. However, this phase doesn’t last long.
Devalue:
One exhale and then devaluing phase comes in. It starts slowly until little criticism, like how you dress and eat, becomes massive contempt that moves to creep into the relationship.
Discard:
This is the phase in which your relationship is ending, but regardless of who ended it, a narcissist will make it look like it’s your fault because they always want to play the victim and look good for the rest of the people. The narcissistic approach is often masked with many elements that would make the narcissist get away with it if we don’t get to see the signs. Stand up and walk away; we have the power to make a choice now.
Read More: 8 Reasons Why Narcissists Are Evil Dirty People.
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