Love bombing is often described as the opening act of narcissistic abuse. Excessive attention, constant admiration, and intense affection can feel intoxicating at first, especially to empathic individuals. Because of this, many victims assume that if they were not love bombed, something must be wrong with them. In reality, the absence of love bombing often has far less to do with your worth and far more to do with the narcissist’s psychology. Love bombing is not love. It is a

The word "normal" can be difficult to define. To define it, you need a reference point, a standard for comparison, which is likely based on your past experiences with people. Narcissists are adept at tuning into these experiences. They ask many questions about your past relationships to learn how to act and appear as though they conform to what you consider normal. Narcissists often seem deeply interested in you, giving the impression that you have their undivided attention.

Narcissists are not stupid; they know exactly what they're doing. They are aware that they are exploiting you just by being around you. They know they don't belong, which is why they are so covert. They hide themselves because if you saw the real them, you would run a mile. So, they give you a false character and manipulate you, all the while knowing they don't deserve you. They know you are out of their league, which is why they are drawn to you. They are not drawn to people

Narcissists devote their time and attention to acquiring knowledge about their targets. They observe you closely to understand your behaviour and emotions. They conduct detailed investigations and analyses, much like a psychologist, to explain why you behave the way you do. Initially, they don't understand you, so they need to learn your behaviours and how you respond to different situations. Narcissists view people as objects or machines, using them to complete specific task

There are many shocking things that narcissists do, but this has to be the most disturbing. It is something that is likely to leave you feeling unsettled and render you unstable. When the narcissist first targets you, they tune into who you are. They have nothing in common with you; they don't share any interests, experiences, or other characteristics with you. Instead, they reflect back to you your own virtues and ideals, making it seem like you're perfect for each other, as

Narcissists will give you all sorts of lies and false promises. They will act as if they're on your side, supporting you, and promising you a future. But whatever they have led you to believe, you will never get that from them. In fact, everyone who has dealt with a narcissist has experienced the same thing. Not only do you not get what they led you to want from them, but they also end up destroying your dreams, your cherished aspirations, ambitions, and ideals. These visions

Narcissists are mad. They engage in wild and aggressive behaviour. They're not sensible or logical; they're unpredictable and non-conforming. They don't seem to care about anything. Clearly, there could only be one logical explanation for that: at some point in their childhood, they did care about something, but they were told that it was wrong or it didn't have a favourable result. Maybe they were abused or neglected. From that point on, they learned that there's no use in c

Narcissists enjoy playing games. They're very competitive and engage in periods of play that end with a definite result. They manipulate situations in ways that are neither honest nor fair. They show no moral principles and are very untrustworthy. They act in direct opposition to you, and for them, it's an activity they do for fun. It brings them amusement and enjoyment, giving them a thrill at your expense as they manipulate you to their advantage. They toy with you, dealing

Narcissists are typically very observant. They constantly scan their environment for threats, quickly noticing any changes. They pay careful attention to what you do and how you feel. By this point, it should be pretty obvious: the last thing the narcissist wants to see is your happiness. They don't want to witness your well-being and contentment unless it's something they can take credit for. Otherwise, it brings them irritation and annoyance, causing them mental suffering a

The narcissist has a very dark secret they don't want you to know. They are often quite good at hiding it, but the truth is that the core emotion of a narcissist is envy. They experience discontentment and resentment aroused by your possessions, qualities, or luck. They desire to have it or to have you all to themselves, which is why they try to control you. They see you as a possession that belongs to them. This is why they often feel and express bitterness and annoyance bec

Narcissists are always looking to create enemies by being actively opposed and hostile to people. They're always looking to weaken or harm you in some shape or form, causing you severe physical and mental suffering as though it's their only purpose in life. It seems like the only reason for their existence. The only thing they really know how to do is assess the risks, possibilities, or effects of a situation or a course of action to make a judgment, forecast, projection, pre

There are many things a narcissist won't want you to do when you are around them, but it really comes down to one thing: they do not want you to be yourself around them. Over time, you will find that you can't even be yourself because even if you manage to engage in activities you would normally enjoy, you won't find as much fulfillment in those things as you normally would. When you're around a narcissist, you are constantly being affected by or subjected to something, rathe

Sometimes narcissists leave and never look back because they believe they can continue to be successful without you. They think they can progress without interruption or impediment, without anything holding them back from doing what they want to do or being who they want to be. They may lead you to believe that you weren't good enough for them or that they found something better. However, you need to look at the behaviours you witnessed before they left, as that's typically w

When you reject a narcissist and go no contact, it doesn't mean it's all over. Rejecting a narcissist causes a narcissistic injury—an emotional trauma that overwhelms their defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. They feel like their self-image has been criticized, slighted, or insulted. After you challenge their inflated sense of superiority, specialness, or entitlement, they become obsessed because they can't hook you or attract your attention. Narciss

There are a lot of weird and creepy things that a narcissist will do to you if you are around them long enough. The abuse tends to escalate over time as it becomes normalized. They become more and more dissatisfied as the initial thrill and feelings of excitement begin to fade away. This is why there is no cut-off point for the abuse; it is like a drug to them. Initially, the abuse may have been satisfying for them, like the first ingestion of a drug. But then those feelings

As difficult as it may be to believe, there are actually times when narcissists are vulnerable. I've seen it only a few times in my own experiences. It can be very rare, and it's more common with covert narcissists. However, in those situations, it isn't authentic; they will just resort to another form of manipulation to get their needs met. With full-blown Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), it is not only real but can be a very shocking, powerful, and unexpected turn o

For those who spend enough time around a narcissist, no one is immune to the devaluation where they begin to reduce or underestimate your worth or importance. They belittle you and put you down. In the beginning, they idealized you, love-bombed you, and put you on a pedestal. But as soon as you believe that what they were displaying to you was real, they began to devalue you. They criticized you, treated you with contempt, and it seemed as though they were more interested in

Narcissists cannot see people as individuals. They cannot view you as a separate entity or as a living soul. They objectify you, degrading you to the status of a mere object, a tool, or a toy, as if you had no feelings, opinions, or rights of your own. They dehumanize you, depriving you of human qualities and therefore your dignity. This is why they will strip you of your independence and try to control you. In their minds, you are their possession, just a thing that belongs

The narcissist already knows they're not being real or authentic. They know they're just a fictional character, an imaginary person. They lack any qualities that make them different, but in their minds, they think they're special or unique. In reality, they're just the same as any other narcissist, regardless of gender, age, or location. They all act and behave exactly the same, so they're no different from any other narcissist. They created this false character, which they b

Narcissists are very vengeful. They will often seek to harm you in return for a perceived injury. They can be resentful and unforgiving, holding grudges and refusing to forgive or excuse people's faults or wrongdoings. They can be bitter because they believe they have been treated unfairly. They can seem infuriated and exasperated, holding strong feelings of anger and dislike sometimes for a lifetime, because they believe you have treated them badly. They often seek satisfact