Narcissist Quotes

“Narcissistic personality disorder is named for Narcissus, from Greek mythology, who fell in love with his own reflection. Freud used the term to describe persons who were self-absorbed, and psychoanalysts have focused on the narcissist's need to bolster his or her self-esteem through grandiose fantasy, exaggerated ambition, exhibitionism, and feelings of entitlement.”
― Donald W. Black, DSM-5 Guidebook: The Essential Companion to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

“Imagine the infant who one day cries and gets fed, and the next day cries and goes hungry. One day smiles and is kissed and hugged. The next day smiles and is ignored. This is what psychologists called 'preoccupied or unresolved attachment' with the primary caregiver--usually the mother. There was love one minute and disdain the next. Affection that was given in abundance for no reason and then taken away without cause. The child has no ability to predict or influence the behavior of the parent. The narcissist loves a child only as an extension of herself at first, and then as a loyal subject. So she will tend to the child only when it makes her feel good.”
― Wendy Walker, Emma in the Night

“The challenge of abating one with a genuine ego problem is to not try to put him down. Any and all antagonization, in his mind, is merely compensated for by his own descriptions: his feelings of persecution by the envious and his ideals of worth. Arguably, the genuine ego is more of a circumstantial defense mechanism rather than a steady arrogance in need of starvation.”
― Criss Jami, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality

“Gaslighting is mind control to make victims doubt their reality.”
― Tracy Malone

“Only an arrogant person can sense arrogance in others; same is the case with narcissism.”
― Abhaidev, Notes from the Edge of Sanity

“Their manipulation is psychological and emotionally devastating – and very dangerous, especially considering the brain circuitry for emotional and physical pain are one and the same (Kross, 2011). What a victim feels when they are punched in the stomach can be similar to the pain a victim feels when they are verbally and emotionally abused, and the effects of narcissistic abuse can be crippling and long-lasting, even resulting in symptoms of PTSD or Complex PTSD.”
― Shahida Arabi, Becoming the Narcissist's Nightmare: How to Devalue and Discard the Narcissist While Supplying Yourself

“People with NPD have a strong need, in every area of their life, to be treated as if they’re special. To those with NPD, other people are simply mirrors, useful only insofar as they reflect back the special view of themselves they so desperately long to see. If that means making others look bad by comparison—say, by ruining their reputation at work—so be it. Because life is a constant competition, they’re also usually riddled with envy over what other people seem to have. And they’ll let you know”
― Bandy X Lee, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

“Narcissists play a public game and a private game which makes it harder to understand. Expressing your concerns suddenly turns you into the ‘jealous one’ and they make you doubt yourself. He/she becomes cold and uncaring almost overnight, this is when the “mask falls” and you see the real person. They make excuses and if we don’t except these excuses then you are the ‘crazy’ one. They are managing down your expectations from constant contact to crickets this verbally and emotional abuse hurts.”
― Tracy Malone

“Many survivors of a narcissist discover that they’ve sacrificed so much in an attempt to please the narcissist that they’ve lost sight of who they are. Rediscovering oneself involves reclaiming things once loved, be it passions, friendships, or even jobs. It’s about finding that one thing you used to enjoy and taking it back. Reconnect with your inner child, play, and reintroduce yourself to the joys that make you uniquely you.”
― Tracy Malone

“When you struggle with fear and trust issues, be aware that you may not trust yourself. You are the first person you must learn to trust.”
― Tracy Malone

“The healing doesn’t happen in the rewind. It happens in the pause. In the breath. In the moment you choose yourself again.”
― Tracy A Malone

“If I've come to understand anything about narcissism and those who espouse such traits---it's that it does not heal or go away. It only changes masks. It adopts new personas for new stations and stages in life. But those who tend to see through it know that it doesn't matter what charisma it exudes, what platitudes, dogmas or great transformations it adopts ---- narcissism is always underpinned by the ego of a broken child. It's always propped up by the pile of wreckage it has amassed beneath itself.
A narcissist is a chameleon, a mimic. Its skin changes, its words adapt to the pleasure of its surroundings, but its interior remains the same.”
― Jennifer DeLucy

“Cruelty cannot be tamed by kindness.”
― Frances Woodard

“How many of those all too happy to judge ‘simpletons’ today could even comprehend that intentional simplicity might be a far more satisfying and enriching lifestyle than their own frenzied, narcissistic pursuit of satisfaction and wealth?”
― Sol Luckman, Get Out of Here Alive: Inner Alchemy & Immortality

“If the story of your life was all about you, at your death the person who would have found pleasure in reading it is in the same pine box that you are. And the ones who have no interest are the ones shoveling the dirt.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Your worth has nothing to do with your performance.”
― Tracy A Malone

“You know the truth of your heart even if they refuse to see it.”
― Tracy A Malone

“With the right tools, you can shift from chaos to clarity and protect your children from the psychological games narcissists play.”
― Tracy A Malone

“Even if you feel pushed out, do not fully close the door. Narcissistic relationships are unstable. When cracks appear, your child needs a safe path home not shame.”
― Tracy A Malone

“Understanding the dynamics of narcissistic abuse, trauma bonding, and estrangement gives you tools not just to cope, but to eventually reconnect from a place of strength.”
― Tracy A Malone

“You’re allowed to live even as you wait, even as you pray for reconnection. Taking care of yourself isn’t giving up; it’s surviving.”
― Tracy A Malone

“You are not the same person you were when the rupture happened. You’ve learned, you’ve grown, you’ve grieved. You are still becoming. And that’s happening in the present”
― Tracy A Malone

“None of that is happening in this moment. Right now, you’re breathing. You have a choice. You have life. You have moments in front of you that are still yours to live, moments that don’t belong to the estrangement unless you give them away”
― Tracy A Malone

“With time, awareness, and healing tools, the loops will loosen. The thoughts will come less often. You’ll get longer stretches of peace. And one day, you’ll notice you’re not thinking about them at all.”
― Tracy A Malone

“Be kind to yourself. You’ve been through mental warfare. Rumination is not weakness it’s a sign that your body and brain are trying to make sense of the trauma.”
― Tracy A Malone

“Absolute self-sufficiency is a mental illness, you gotta be extremely selfish to be happy on your own.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Nazmahal: Palace of Grace

“Daniel de Llano’s The Sparkle Trap is a no-holds-barred look at queer relationships and the struggles of relational narcissism. He brings clarity to a topic many of us may not have the words for, and does so in an interactive way. Blending storytelling with practical guidance, The Sparkle Trap shines a light on toxic narcissistic dynamics and leaves you with the tools to move forward and put your needs first. This is a must-read for the queer community.
—Larry Smiglewski, Marriage and Family Therapist, @TherapyWithLarry”
― Daniel de Llano, The Sparkle Trap: Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Narcissistic Abuse in LGBTQ+ Love

“Everybody is a narcissist
(Sonnet 2860)

Everybody hates a narcissist,
yet everybody is a narcissist -
when it's others it's narcissism,
when it's themselves it's self-love.

We all need somebody, that's not weakness,
it's our biggest strength, at the same time,
we all need some personal space,
it's not selfishness, it's a basic essential.

A healthy humane society is where our lives
overlap each other, enough to lift each other up,
but never too much to violate each other.

Separately, we grow in height -
together, we grow in life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Tierra Carta: Naskar Charter of Earth

“Everybody hates a narcissist, yet everybody is a narcissist – when it’s others it’s narcissism, when it’s themselves it’s self-love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Tierra Carta: Naskar Charter of Earth

“As you grow older your ambitions shrink, and that's a good thing, more and more you find bliss in the little things, that's a healthy closure of a life well lived - mark you, I'm not talking about giving up something you love doing, I'm talking about retiring from the chase; but if your hunger for power and position never ceases even with age, you're not ambitious, you're a narcissist, a megalomaniacal psychopath.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşkoholic: Portrait of A Human