If they ever bring it up to you, act like you have no idea what they’re talking about. “What? I wasn’t ignoring you. I’ve just been really busy lately. ”
“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say. I think you should apologize. ” “When you talk down to me like that, I feel belittled. Let’s try to talk nicely to each other from now on. ”
“If you keep calling me names, I’m going to walk away. I can’t talk to someone who doesn’t respect me. ” “You can’t belittle me in public like that. If that happens again, we won’t be hanging out anymore. ”
“You lose your temper easily, you know that? Maybe you should take some anger management classes. ” “Ouch, that was pretty harsh. There’s no need to yell—we’re all friends here!”
“Did you see that Jenny got a promotion yesterday? She only got hired there a year ago! That’s much less time than you’ve been at the company. ” “I’m so impressed by Harry’s art. His Instagram following is huge! Maybe you should get some tips from him on promoting your art. ”
You can also mess up their day by spontaneously changing your plans. Made reservations at a restaurant? Cancel them, then text the narcissist to meet you somewhere else instead.
Having trouble staying calm? Try doing deep breathing exercises or counting to 10 in your head. You can also give very unenthusiastic or sarcastic replies to show how uninterested you are. Say things like “Oh, wow,” or, “Hmm,” to quickly shut down a narcissist.
“Are you sure you didn’t say that? I have screenshots of the texts you sent me this morning. Here, look. ” “But you were invited to that party—we all were. Look, I have the invitation in my email right here. ”
“Yeah, I know you wanted me to go to college, but taking a gap year is better for me right now. ” “Being a doctor would be a great career path, but that’s not what I want. I’d like to be a teacher instead. ”
Narcissists lack empathy, which is why they can’t be happy for you (or anyone else). When you do achieve a goal, be sure to post about it on social media or tell mutual friends about it so it gets back to the narcissist in your life.
Narcissists can’t handle being broken up with, so be prepared for a lot of love-bombing as a way to win you over. If that doesn’t work, a narcissist may resort to spreading rumors about you or talking about you behind your back.
