By definition, narcissism is the “exaggerated admiration that a person feels for themselves, for their physical appearance or for their gifts or qualities.”
Although all people can have certain non-pathological tendencies towards narcissism, when these are more exaggerated they can negatively interfere in the life of any individual. Much more so if we are already talking about a narcissistic personality disorder, which usually causes serious problems in different areas of life.
One of the areas in which these problems become most evident, without a doubt, is that of Couple relationships. In this article we are going to see what consequences the narcissistic personality has on relationships.
10 traits that identify a narcissistic personality in relationships
- The center of the universe: The narcissistic person is completely in love with himself and thinks that his problems are the most important in the world. Furthermore, she often feels superior to others. Therefore, she tends not to listen to or belittle her partner.
- Love Hate: The relationships of this type of people are very contradictory. At the same time that they express love for another person, they are capable of feeling hatred for the object of their love. For this reason, their relationships are plagued with conflicts.
- Jealousy: A narcissistic person always needs to be the center of attention. You can’t stand your partner paying attention to other people.
- Constant control attitude: The behaviors of following their partners, spying on them, snooping on their social networks, etc. are frequent.
- Lack of empathy: The narcissistic person is unable to put themselves in the shoes of others or take their needs or feelings into account.
- Inability to withstand criticism: He does not accept advice or allow anyone to help him out of a mistake.
- Need for constant attention and praise: These people need to feel cared for and admired at all times, so they do everything possible to arouse that admiration.
- Manipulative people: capable of using their partner only to achieve their goals and experts in using emotional blackmail to achieve it. It is also common for narcissistic people to show off their partners, to show them off.
- Envy: they justify their failures with the envy of others (for example, being fired from work), just as they envy anyone who can surpass them in terms of success and recognition; also if this is your partner.
- inflated self-esteem: Although this is not always the case, the narcissistic personality may be nothing more than a mask to hide a concept of oneself that is much poorer than it appears. In these cases (vulnerable narcissists) a compensation mechanism is set in motion that inflates their self-esteem so as not to face their own internal conflicts. There is another type (grandiose narcissists) truly convinced of their unattainable greatness.
How to act when faced with a narcissistic partner?
Narcissists are deceitful and seductive people, so it is not strange to fall into their networks before they show their true colors. But, in the medium term, a relationship with a narcissistic person or person with narcissistic personality disorder entails enormous emotional exhaustion. They are conflictive and stressful relationships.
There are studies that indicate that a very high percentage of cases of narcissistic personality have a genetic originwhich makes a possible change in the behavior of these people difficult (but not impossible).
Some guidelines that can help you in your relationship with a narcissistic person they may be the following:
- Consider what personal conflicts may have led you to fall in love with a narcissistic person and not be able to leave them. Through one you can find the way to get out of that unhealthy relationship or to improve said relationship if you want to keep it at all costs.
- Keep in mind that the narcissist may act motivated by a compensation mechanism that often hides a battered ego.
- show yourself with sinceritydo not fall into the trap of praise and be able to express your criticism when you consider it necessary.
- Try to be aware of his manipulations To neutralize them, put the preservation of your self-esteem first.
- Avoid entering into conflict with these types of people.
- Another aspect that you should keep in mind is that narcissistic people tend to be very reluctant to undergo psychological treatment or they abandon it in the first sessions. However, although they are slow and complicated processes, there are effective psychotherapy treatments to overcome this type of disorder. Creating new coping mechanisms, new habits, understanding your own pain, and developing empathy are essential parts of these treatments.
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