A narcissist is not just someone who loves to stare at his reflection in the mirror or takes a lot of selfies. True narcissists have much deeper issues that you may be unaware of unless you were in contact with one, or even worse, you have experienced narcissistic abuse. They target relationships with people who fall to their initial charm and who are easy to manipulate and exploit.
What a narcissist wants is someone who will admire them constantly and who will submit to their exploitation. They will do anything to get exactly what they want and they don’t mind if they use people in the most extreme ways for their own ends.
Because they hide their true self, you need to educate yourself of the tactics they use so that you don’t allow to be manipulated and protect yourself on time. Here are four ways in which narcissistic people manipulate and exploit other people.
They persuade you to make sacrifices for them
If they need to manipulate you to do whatever they want, the narcissist will play the victim card. They will complain they are sick, in distress, or in need of help in order to make you feel pity for them. When you start feeling sorry for them, you will probably want to help them and that’s exactly what they wanted. You will even go out of your way in order to act out the narcissist’s will.
They will even stop you from pursuing your goals because you are expected to sacrifice your whole life for them. They don’t see you as a human being, but merely as an object to serve whatever needs they have.
They speak only about themselves
Narcissists seek people who will allow and accept their feelings of superiority and self-importance. They will talk about them all the time because in that way they feed their egos. They will exaggerate their achievements and talents in order to gain admiration from people.
However, they will hide their shortcomings and will say nothing good about anyone unless they see some benefit in their connection with them. If they talk about someone in a good light it could also be because they admire the narcissist and do them favors.
They belittle you
If they spotted a potential prey in you, first they will trick you to believe that there is a special relationship between you two. And because everything needs to revolve around them, their fragile ego can’t stand when you shine in your light and confidence.
They will try to degrade you if you pose a threat to their sense of self. However, you probably feel insecure yourself which is why you attracted them in the first place. A person with healthy self-confidence won’t put anyone on a pedestal, while they are minimized and devalued themselves.
So, the narcissist wants to feel superior by minimizing your impact. They will belittle you, bully you, call you names, berate you and even humiliate you in front of other people, but it will be so subtle that you might even accept their behavior and perceive it as something normal.
They play the victim
The final sign that will definitely reveal you are dealing with a narcissist is that they never apologize for their mistakes. If you finally call them out on their behavior after many episodes of emotional abuse and exploitation, they will take the victim role in the situation and point the finger at you.
The narcissist will try to escape any responsibility and will make up all kinds of excuses so that the defects and weaknesses they have remain hidden. They will never admit they are wrong and give you a sincere apology.
If you ever come across a person with these traits, it would be better for you if stay away from them and not cause yourself any troubles. But if you are already involved with a narcissist, try to gradually distance yourself and limit any contact with them.
Confronting the narcissist and calling them out on their behavior may turn out to be pointless and even troublesome because they are not listening to you and may even try to get even with you. Just walk away slowly from their life, move on with yours, and forget about them.
