{"id":8818,"date":"2022-08-03T07:36:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T13:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theclarion.org\/?p=8818"},"modified":"2022-08-03T07:36:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T13:36:32","slug":"love-shouldnt-hurt-ever-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/?p=8818","title":{"rendered":"Love shouldn\u2019t hurt – ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Signs you\u2019re dating a narcissist<\/strong>
\nDating a narcissist can be difficult, confusing, and in some cases, manipulative and abusive. Those with Narcissistic Personality Disorder gain their identity and motivation from others often through grandiose, antagonistic and attention-seeking behaviors. Narcissists experience low levels of empathy and don\u2019t consider the effects their behaviors have on others. Their relationships are often shallow and just a means to an end. While this isn\u2019t the case for all narcissists, it\u2019s good to be aware of the signs you are dating a narcissist.<\/p>\n

1. Bragging: Does your significant other brag that they are the best at everything they do? This behavior could be a display of grandiose behavior. Grandiose ideas manifest most often as thinking one is better than everyone else and acting condescendingly toward other people.<\/p>\n

2. Self-Centeredness: Another facet of grandiosity is self-centeredness. If your date has only talked about themselves all night and doesn\u2019t remember anything about you, it might be a sign that they\u2019re a narcissist.<\/p>\n

3. Gaslighting: In a nutshell, gaslighting is a tactic of emotional abuse designed to make someone distrust their own view of reality. Narcissists easily gaslight people, on purpose or accidentally, because they need to feel like they are better and smarter than you. If you express your opinion to a narcissist, they\u2019ll do everything in their power to change your mind so you believe they\u2019re right.<\/p>\n

4. Emotional Detachment: In the beginning, most narcissists seem like the perfect partner. They will build you up and flatter you, but once they\u2019ve gotten all the assurance, validation and ego boosting they can from you, they\u2019ll start to pull away. If your partner suddenly seems distant or annoyed at your presence, it could be a sign that they are moving on to a new supply.<\/p>\n

5. Instant Messaging: Many narcissists need instant gratification to be satisfied because their sense of self is tied to others. If you are with someone who gets angry or annoyed when you don\u2019t answer your phone right away, that\u2019s a sign of narcissism and it\u2019s not fair to you when you are trying to live your own life.<\/p>\n

6. Drama Kings and Drama Queens: Narcissists are the stars of their own blockbuster movie. They need their life to be high stakes so they can receive admiration and respect from others. If your date has been talking about their tragic life story a lot, take it with a grain of salt. They may just be trying to get a response out of you.<\/p>\n

7. Controlling: A narcissistic dating partner will want to take charge of everything from when and where you go on date night to your relationship status on Facebook. They need to be in control because it makes them feel like they\u2019re in power. Whether that power is real or perceived doesn\u2019t matter; they\u2019ll fight for control until the bitter end.<\/p>\n

8. No Means No: Usually when someone says no, it means no. However, to a narcissist, \u201cNo\u201d is just another challenge and they LOVE a challenge. Narcissists consider themselves the exception to any and all rules. They\u2019ll even take your preferences or difference of opinion as a challenge. For example, if you\u2019re vegetarian, your date might try to convince you to eat meat using any technique possible to convince you that you\u2019re wrong and should change. Your personal boundaries are of no concern to them, and if your partner oversteps your boundaries often, it might be time to let go.<\/p>\n

9. Feeling Used: If you\u2019re dating a narcissist, you\u2019re going to feel a little used sometimes. Ask yourself if you feel satisfied in your interactions with your partner. Do they ask about you or care about what you\u2019re going through? If you find yourself tagging along on their adventures and listening to their stories and ideas with no reciprocation, it\u2019s a sign you have found yourself dating a narcissist.<\/p>\n

Do you recognize any of these signs? Crisis Services of North Alabama can help. Please contact us locally at 256.574.5826, on our 24\/7 HELPline at 256.716.1000, or at our website www.csna.org. Advocates provide free, confidential support to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.<\/p>\n

-Rebecca Hieronymi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Signs you\u2019re dating a narcissist Dating a narcissist can be difficult, confusing, and in some cases, manipulative and abusive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love-shouldnt-hurt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8819,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8818\/revisions\/8819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}