“A narcissist paints a picture of themselves as being the victim or innocent in all aspects. They will be offended by the truth. But what is done in the dark will come to light. Time has a way of showing people’s true colors.” — Karla Grimes
The truth is that narcissists tend to hide their true personality from the rest of the world, and when we realize we are actually dealing with one, it is too late.
In the beginning, narcissists present themselves as loyal friends and loving romantic partners.
They are caring, well-mannered, funny, and pretend to love you to the moon. However, their real aim is to manipulate you and use you for the sake of their interests. So, when they are done, they impatiently move on to their next victim and relationship.
That’s why it is important to detect them and not to get too involved with such a person.
To help you do that below, we’ve outlined 8 telltale signs that show someone has a narcissistic personality.
1. Narcissists feel superior to others
First of all, narcissists feel superior to everyone. However, they are deeply insecure and fear everyone who could be better than them. They see capable and ambitious people as enemies and try to outshine them and show they are the only ones who deserve admiration. So, if you notice that your friend or family member is always talking about or showing through their actions that they feel superior to other people, the chances are he or she is a narcissist.
Miami-based psychotherapist Whitney Hawkins also confirms that for Men’s Health:
“Someone with NPD will exhibit grandiosity and a high sense of self-importance. They believe they are unique and superior,” says Hawkins.” They may live in a fantasy world that supports their delusions of grandeur by ignoring key facts or reality that negates their’ uniqueness.'”
2. They need constant reassurance of their worth
Although narcissists seem overly confident they aren’t at all. Actually, they need constant reassurance of their own worth and tend to want to receive it and expect it from everyone. Surely, the reason for that is the fact deep inside themselves, and the narcissists are insecure and fragile people.
3. They cannot feel compassion
These people are unable to feel any empathy at all and are incapable of understanding how others feel. They are always focused on their happiness and would sacrifice anything to achieve their goals. Furthermore what’s even worse is that they try to hide their true colors by pretending they care for the other people. But this is not true. They do it to trick their friends and family to manipulate and control them.
4. Trophy complex
A true narcissist wants the other people to see them as beautiful, amazing, successful, and happy. This is also called the “trophy complex.” It consists of someone using objects, people, social status, or success to present their self to the world. However, this s only in order to make divert the attention from their true, imperfect or in other words, “real” self.
“My accomplishments are my life.”
“I got plastic surgery because it’s the best way to get a rich man’s attention and make other women jealous.”
“Poor people are to be avoided. I certainly don’t want to look poor, which is why I drive a luxury car.”
5. Drama queens
Dramatic moments in life are inevitable, but living in drama every single day is unbearable. Narcissists are known for purposefully creating unexisting and unnecessary drama by making intrigues, provoking people, gossiping and whatever else you can think of. According to Anne Roberts, a licensed psychologist from New York
“Many narcissists live to create emotional drama — they do it to be able to control and manipulate others more easily,” she noted.
6. They have an explanation for everything
Even when things go wrong, narcissists claim it’s exactly what they’ve wanted and expected. These people tend to rationalize everything that could serve their aims. They think they are always right and never accept other people’s points of view or even worse – try to persuade everyone else that they are right in every situation.
“Rationalizing, I would argue, is simply another word for a narcissist employing pathological lying to make their wrong behavior seem like right behavior in their own eyes … and ours,” Lenora Thompson, who writes the blog Narcissism Meets Normalcy on Psych Central, says Bustle.
“Anything weird, anything that doesn’t feel right, doesn’t ring true, is too good to be true, or is bad masquerading as good, takes a lot of words to rationalize … all signs of pathological lying,” Thompson said.
7. They believe they are entitled to succeed.
Being proud when you do something great is normal and shows that you are an ambitious person. But living with the idea that you deserve success just because you think you are better than the other people is a pure form of narcissism.
For example, according to what Kushnick says to Men’s Health people who feel as if they and their partner are not able to succeed at the same time and are always making sure they’re doing better are probably narcissists.
8. They are always right
We all make mistakes sometimes as there aren’t people who are right all the time. Except for narcissists. Of course, it’s not that they are always right, but they think they are and try to convince others in that. They never admit if they’re wrong or if they have made a mistake. On top of that, they react very badly if someone starts doubting their rightness.
Here’s what psychologist Gregory Kushnick tells Men’s Health.
“Pathological certainty is when someone seems like they’re in the business of making other people bad or wrong. It’s as though they’ve chosen to be right instead of happy. Many narcissists always have to be right.”
Have you ever been close with a narcissist?
Please, share your experience in the comments below:
