Narcissism is rife at the moment, not because I think that there is an exponential growth, but because we have a name for it, the patterns of behaviour and language usage is alarmingly predictable and because somewhere along the line we have been given permission to move away from people who make us feel uncomfortable (aka toxic people).
We set up this website for educational and informational purposes only. Our goal is to provide as much information about this personality disorder as we can so that people can recognise and protect themselves from NPD. We are not here to vilify anyone, however, we are not going to pretend that the impact of being around people with this condition is not extremely dangerous and destructive. It is also important to know that Narcissism is a spectrum and some people with the condition are a lot more abusive and sadistic than others who might just manifest the traits as being without empathy extremely self-absorbed.
Education is the key to keeping yourself safe. Recognise it for what it is and you will be able to navigate the murky waters around a narcissist much more effectively. That does not mean that they will not try to destroy your reputation, steal your ideas or take credit for your achievements. What it means is that you will know that the way that they treat you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. They may name call, try to destroy your reputation, constantly say “you are so …”. It is their issues that they are trying to shake off and blame someone else for. It is called projection “I don’t like this about myself, so it is your fault”. So hold your ground, learning about NPD is very hard and it changes your perspective on everything. Don’t try to learn too much too soon, let it sink in slowly and gently reinforce your boundaries.
A word of warning: Once you realise that you are with a narcissist or have come from a narcissistic family of origin, it is very easy to become obsessed with learning all about the condition. However, you (one) will only be able to absorb the concept in small increments, so there is no point in getting up at 4 am and Googling facets of narcissism. You (one) simply won’t be able to absorb it in a speedy way.
Another word of warning: There is little or no point in talking to people who have not experienced or are not educated about narcissistic abuse. They simply will not know what you are talking about and it might only serve to make you feel even more isolated and vulnerable. There are a lot of support groups out there and it would be more beneficial to converse with people who know what you are talking about, rather than those who will imply that you are being too sensitive, paranoid, feeling sorry for yourself or simply lying.