Psychological Tricks To Use Against A Narcissist

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To assert control over you, convince you of their grandiosity, and keep you in a shame-riddled state of inferiority, the narcissist must first engage and colonize your mind. Yet you have deflection tools at your disposal. The following tricks should be useful when dealing with a narcissist’s cognitive attacks:

Changing The Topic

The narcissist is playing victim, trying to gaslight you, is dragging your attention through a series of mind-bending concepts, or directing focus on you and your ‘hopelessness’.

Halfway through the narcissist’s monologue or rant, simply change the topic to something completely mundane. Do it shamelessly and without warning.The weather. What colour t-shirt would look better, black or green? What time do the shops close? What was the score last night from the game?

The key here is to de-personalise the conversation, to short-circuit the charged topic a narcissist is leading and bring your interaction back to the surface. The narcissist will sense the shift, but likely will not say anything about what you did because that would disrupt the ‘game’ you are playing.

JH Simon

Writer on a hero’s journey toward truth. Exploring power dynamics in life & love, through fiction & philosophy.

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What You Should Never Do To A Narcissist

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How To Go Toe-To-Toe With A Narcissist