Ways That a Narcissist Can Take Advantage of You

No one likes it when someone is selfish. It is seen as rude and even overbearing at times. However, we have all done something selfish at some point in our lives. Sometimes, these small selfish acts can get us branded a narcissist. However, there is more to being a narcissist than just being selfish. Narcissists don’t feel empathy, are controlling, and tend to be good at deceiving and exploiting others. Because of the characteristics mentioned above, narcissists can take advantage of people, specifically people they see as weaker or someone they believe they can dominate. Often, people become under the control of a narcissist without even noticing. If you are unsure if you are being taken advantage of by a narcissist, check out how a narcissist takes advantage of people below.

Emotional Manipulation

One of the biggest ways a narcissist can take advantage of you is through emotional manipulation. In cases like this, the narcissist will play with your emotions, intentionally making you jealous or making you feel guilty for something in an attempt to assert dominance and control. Narcissists will emotionally manipulate you into feeling jealous or guilty after you have confided in them. In other cases, they will compliment you and emotionally support you for a while to gain your affection before starting to degrade you.

Physical Isolation

Another way that a narcissist will try to take advantage of you is through physical isolation. Through physical isolation, the narcissist will have more control over you without the positive or protective influence of your family, friends, or peers. A narcissist will try to isolate you from your loved ones through emotional manipulation. They may guilt you into not making plans with your family or use jealousy to keep you from forming friendships with co-workers. Narcissists will even degrade you to the point where you don’t feel loved by your friends and family. In some cases, a narcissist might also try to lie to you in an attempt to isolate you from your family, friends, and peers.

Threatening

Another common way that narcissists try to take advantage of people is through threats. Usually, narcissists resort to threatening people for two reasons. First, because they believe that threatening you can make you do what they want. Second, because they feel threatened themselves or that they are losing control over you. Neither reason is a good reason to threaten someone. Narcissistic threats are usually non-violent and include threatening to leave, reveal a secret, or sabotage an opportunity. For many narcissists, threatening someone is a last-ditch effort to keep them under control.

These are just some of the ways that narcissists can take advantage of you. Patterns of selfishness, greed, manipulation, and deception are signs that you might be in a relationship with a narcissist. While not all narcissists are violent, some are and can use violence to trap and manipulate you. If you find yourself in a friendship or relationship with someone who is a violent narcissist, seek help immediately. If their violent behavior is not addressed, it will only get worse and more violent.