“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people are going to be very disappointed that they are not it.”
~ Unknown

Narcissists are a lot like zombies—a popular topic of conversation, but no one wants to be within 100 yards of one.

Much has been written the last few years about narcissism and its negative effect on relationships. You may be familiar with some of their prominent and dominant traits.

“Ninja traits” are camouflaged and a bit more subtle.

The following observations are derived from my own experience being in relationships with three narcissists. (Admittedly a small sample size—not exactly a thousand-person double blind pharmaceutical study.)

I don’t blame the narcissists; they were just acting out of their programming. The primary characteristic of a narcissist is that deep down inside they are incredibly insecure. In order to hide that insecurity, they lash out and treat the ones around them like disposable paper towels in order to appear confident.

Being in a relationship with a narcissist once it starts to go sideways is about as enjoyable and emotionally fulfilling as being water boarded, or having a rattlesnake chew on your ankle. When something goes seriously wrong in your life, sometimes a slightly tongue-in-cheek look is the best way to view it.

1) Narcissists anthropomorphize small animals.

They prefer smaller animals like purebred cats and Paris Hilton-like pocket puppies. Narcissists treat their pets like the extremely spoiled children they are. Dates will get canceled because Morris seems troubled or Fido seems depressed. Dinners will be interrupted by them begging on the table. “Fido just peed all over the wood floor and pooped on your new Persian rug.” “Oh, it’s so cute.”

2) Narcissists are racist.

A significant trait of the narcissistic personality is they consider themselves above all other human beings. One significant difference between them and a person with genuine empathy for the human race? The narcissist will blurt out ethnic slurs and slanders and see absolutely no reason why anyone should be offended. What? Me? Racist? Never.

3) Narcissists have three or more addictions.

Addictions arise from a person’s inability to be present to certain feelings from their past. Addiction allows them to distract themselves from uncomfortable feelings such as loneliness, sadness, frustration and insecurity, so they don’t have to feel it in the present moment. Combinations observed included alcohol, diet pills and Kardashians, and smoking, “phubbing” and sex.

4) Narcissists are always late.

Not five to 10 minutes late. More like 30 to 60 minutes late. They show up an hour late for a reservation and demand to be seated immediately. Of course, being late is never their fault. There’s always something or someone to blame for their tardiness. They’ll use excuses like, “That’s just the way people of my heritage are. You can’t deny me my heritage and expect me to be on time.”

5) Narcissists are chronic “phubbers.”

Few habits are as annoying as having someone constantly using their phone while they are at dinner. We all have responsibilities to work, family and friends. Very few are true emergencies that require immediate attention. Texting your girlfriends during a lunch date, talking to your child about what color ski jacket they should buy during a romantic dinner or interrupting an awesome kiss to read a Facebook notification is just rude.

6) Narcissists disappear like clockwork, about every six weeks.

When a narcissist senses you may begin to realize their complete insincerity, they will suddenly disappear. For a day, a week or more. They inform you they need to, “think about the relationship” and, decide “if it works for us.”  In reality, they’re just withdrawing their affections in order create a void for the partner, which they hope will draw them back into the narcissist’s web. They conveniently disappear for events in which their partner would truly like support, like a quarterly oncology checkup or a death in their partner’s family.

7) Narcissists are extremely jealous.

The immense insecurity a narcissist feels is manifested in their insane jealousy in the most benign situations. A dinner meeting with a medical colleague is only acceptable if there are no female doctors attending. A lone hair in the bathroom sink elicits a comment of, “Who stayed here last night?” (“Hmm, let’s see, the hair is the exact same length and color as yours, and you stayed here last night?”) Sitting in a bar waiting for her because she is again 30 to 60 minutes late is forbidden. She expects you to wait in your car in the parking lot or in your office, so no women are nearby.

8) Narcissists were abused in an adult romantic relationship.

That abuse makes them hyper-vigilant and hypersensitive to anything that resembles that abusive man or that abusive time in even the smallest ways. Bumping into them while cooking in close quarters in the kitchen will result in a deer-in-the-headlights look or defensive comment. No person—adult or child—raises their hands and arms over their face in a self-defensive posture unless they’ve been struck previously. Narcissists will never admit to past abuse in any relationship; other past partners were always “wonderful” and “perfect.”

9) Narcissists expect and demand emotional support—but return none.

They will tell you how important it is that you support their working and home endeavors in everyday life. Accompany her to work functions, and help her at business events. Support her her in times of family crisis. Be a cheerleader for her aspirations and dreams. When it comes to receiving support, however, you are strictly flying solo. Have a death in the family? You’re going alone to the funeral, because she’s busy. Have a huge speaking presentation you’ve worked months on that she promised to attend? She’s got a “thing” to do at home. Have a sick family member who needs help? You are neglecting her if you go visit them in the hospital.

10) Narcissists rewrite and change history to fit their stories.

They have incredibly selective memories. Narcissists have a unique ability to rewrite or erase history and change it to fit their stories and lies. You know that cute French restaurant you went to three weeks ago, sat in the second booth and joked about snails, and she wore a gray skirt and white top? Never happened, according to her. The promise you made to each other to go away for a specified weekend in Wisconsin to enjoy biking? Never happened. Multiple times she promised to quit smoking? Never happened

11) Narcissist can never utter the three important words in a relationship.

No, not “I love you.” They can say that with ease during the love-bombing phase, because they aren’t sincere. Narcissists can never utter, “I am sorry,“ because they are never, ever wrong. So why would they need to say sorry? You should be in awe of someone so perfect that they have never been wrong.

12) Narcissists only cry as a means to an end.

They are devoid of a true scale of emotions, because they see themselves as superior. Narcissists don’t cry during sad movies, because that might make them look weak. They will definitely cry in one instance, though: to serve their own agenda. During a disagreement or argument, when confronted with indisputable facts that contradict their position, they will cry crocodile tears to take the attention off the facts and elicit empathy.

13) Narcissists refuse to make plans for the future.

An important part of any long-term relationship is planning for a future together—the goals and dreams you both have, for yourselves and for the relationship. Narcissists will not commit to any long-term plans or shared meaning. They are non-committal about the future, which gives them a window to change their mind, or do what is convenient for them.

If there were a narcissist union, each woman I dated would’ve been a card-carrying, tenured, executive member. The lies, the broken promises and the contemptuous treatments were constant.

This list is not a condemnation of narcissists so much as a revelation that these are people I attracted into my life, and abuse I tolerated. It’s important to take responsibility for giving them permission to treat me badly and allowing them to do so.

How do we prevent a narcissist from running rough shod over our life?

1. Healthy boundaries must be set early on for what behavior we will and will not accept from the narcissist, as we would in any relationship. Those are not the boundaries the narcissist believes we should have, but the healthy boundaries we believe in our heart work for us. A relationship is a balance of the values and priorities of both individuals. Otherwise, it’s just a dictatorship.

2. Notify the narcissist in a calm manner when those boundaries are violated. They will do everything they can to convince us what they just said, did or did not do never actually took place (see number 10), but we must hold firm. We are not crazy, as the narcissist would have us believe. They are.

3. Decide how many times we are willing to put up with the narcissist treating us badly and violating our boundaries. Once? Ten times? Personally, I believe in the three-strike rule. It is perhaps generous, but I believe a good place to cut them off. (The only exception is physical abuse. The first time that happens, the narcissist gets shown the door.) If we set that boundary, we must end the relationship when it is violated, or the narcissist will keep talking advantage of us and never take our boundaries seriously.

The first time we are abused by a narcissist—or anyone, for that matter—we can consider ourselves victims. Anytime we allow them to abuse us after that first incident, we are a willing participant.
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Relephant Bonus <-> “How to Fall in Love with Yourself” via Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis:

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Relephant Reads:

How to Identify & Protect ourselves from a Narcissist.

7 Things we Should Know about Loving a Narcissist.

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Author: Dr. Michael Morgan

Editor: Toby Israel

Image: Pixabay

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