How Narcissists Negatively Impact Your Life.
Narcissist abuse is a devastating form of mental and sometimes physical abuse, characterised by manipulative tactics that often go unnoticed by its victims. Whether they exhibit classic, covert, overt, somatic, or vulnerable narcissism, these individuals have a way of infiltrating every aspect of your life, leaving you trapped in a state of spiritual warfare. Their actions can rip open old wounds and crush your goals and dreams, transforming them from heroes to enemies and nightmares.
Narcissists are solely motivated by their own needs, acting as leeches, parasites, and viruses that infect your entire existence. Many of them embody the seven deadly sins:
- Pride: They excessively believe in themselves, promoting their own achievements and talents.
- Envy: They harbour jealousy towards others, always desiring what they don’t have.
- Gluttony: They constantly crave more, never satisfied with what they already possess.
- Lust: They are always in pursuit of gratification.
- Anger: They refuse to accept love and often resort to anger as a defence mechanism.
- Greed: They prioritise material possessions, often exploiting people to satisfy their desires.
- Sloth: They are typically lazy, using others to fulfil their own needs while doing the bare minimum.
To be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, individuals must exhibit at least five of the following characteristics:
- Grandiose sense of self-importance: They exaggerate their achievements and talents.
- Preoccupation with ultimate success: They live in a fantasy world of power, control, dominance, and brilliance.
- Belief in their own superiority: They think they are special and above everyone else.
- Entitlement: They feel entitled to have all their needs met, often resorting to demanding, manipulative, and controlling behaviour.
- Constant need for excessive admiration: They constantly seek excessive admiration from others.
- Exploitation of others: They manipulate and take advantage of others to satisfy their own needs.
- Lack of empathy: They cannot genuinely connect with others’ emotions.
- Envy and jealousy: They resent others who possess what they desire, often believing others envy them as well.
- Arrogance: They have an inflated sense of their own abilities and behaviours.
It is crucial to be aware of their lack of empathy, exploitation of others, entitlement, and envy as red flags in identifying narcissists.
Narcissists manipulate their victims through a series of stages, including idealisation, devaluation, discarding, and hoovering, using tactics such as pity plays, silent treatments, gaslighting, projection, and threats. They cause insecurities, confusion, and emotional turmoil, leaving their victims to recover from the abuse, trauma bonding, anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), financial ruin, and physical and mental illnesses.
Here are seven ways narcissists negatively impact our lives:
- They take over your relationships: Narcissists not only sweep you off your feet, but they also infiltrate and isolate you from friends and family. They manipulate and shift loyalty away from you onto themselves, leaving you feeling alone and unsupported.
- They invade your social media and personal life: Initially showering you with loving messages, they gradually diminish sentimental remarks and may even go silent. They play games on social media to confuse and control you, leaving you to question your own sanity.
- They exploit your resources: Narcissists take advantage of you, emotionally and financially, using pity plays, threats, and blame-shifting to make you dependent on them. They may live off you, spend your money, or try to take your home, leaving you empty and manipulated.
- They infect your heart, mind, and soul: Through manipulation and gaslighting, narcissists slowly erode your self-confidence, causing self-doubt and confusion. They leave you feeling drained, doubting your self-worth and losing your sense of identity.
- They impact your emotional health: Narcissists cycle between idealising and devaluing their victims, manipulating their emotions and causing hurt and confusion. This leads to emotional torture and an emptiness within.
- They crush your hopes and dreams: Starting with false promises, narcissists gradually strip away your dreams, hobbies, passions, and hopes. After their discard, you are left feeling empty and fearful, in need of rebuilding.
- They destroy your trust: Through manipulation, lies, and mind games, narcissists shatter your trust in yourself and others, leaving you questioning motives and overanalysing every interaction.
Despite the negative impacts, it is possible to recover from narcissistic abuse:
- Safely remove the narcissist from your life through no-contact or grey rock methods.
- Establish firm boundaries and block them and any flying monkeys – those who support and enable their behaviour.
- Educate yourself about narcissistic personality disorder to regain your sense of reality and self-forgiveness.
- Cultivate love, connection, and growth by learning new things, making friends who understand you, and addressing any past trauma.
- Rediscover your passions and create new dreams for yourself.
- Practice observing without absorbing narcissistic toxins, and listen to people’s actions rather than their words.
- Be patient and kind to yourself, taking small steps towards recovery even in moments of slip-ups.
- Spread positivity by smiling and complimenting others, as this simple act can brighten someone’s day.
- Develop a growth mindset, teach your brain to reject negative thoughts, and pursue knowledge and skills that benefit you.
- Pay genuine compliments to others, enhancing your own people skills and confidence.
- Find humour and laughter, as they can greatly uplift your mood and spirit.
By taking these steps, you can recover and rebuild your life after narcissistic abuse. Remember, you are not alone, and there is hope for healing and growth.
Identity Theft By Design: How Narcissists Steal Your Identity And Destroy Your World
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Elizabeth Shaw is not a Doctor or a therapist. She is a mother of five, a blogger, a survivor of narcissistic abuse, and a life coach, She always recommends you get the support you feel comfortable and happy with. Finding the right support for you. Elizabeth has partnered with BetterHelp (Sponsored.) where you will be matched with a licensed councillor, who specialises in recovery from this kind of abuse.
