Is Your Relationship Showing Early Signs of Narcissism?

It’s never easy to identify the beginning of a narcissistic relationship. Often, the narcissist can pull you into unhealthy lifestyle patterns before you even realize what is going on.

Detecting early warning signs are key. In the assessment above, we will present you with 20 statements. Answer “yes” or “no” to each one and find out if you are headed down the wrong path.

More About How Narcissistic Relationships Start

The narcissistic pattern has specific identifiers:  High need for control, self-centeredness, low empathy, manipulative behavior, entitlement, strong defenses, and more.  Beyond that, as you engage with narcissists, there are predictable patterns they fall into. And it is your task to become aware of the signs that you are being drawn into their dysfunction.

Within each person, including you and including me, is the inclination to be a reactor:  You’re helpful toward me, I’m glad to return the favor. You’re argumentative, I argue back.  You’re defensive, I can be defensive too.  

Because narcissists have such a strong inclination to be controlling, that means they want to set the narrative for the relationship with you.  They are not team players. Instead, they look for narcissistic supply. That is, they groom others to do their bidding, thereby providing narcissistic supply.  If you let it happen, these people can set the pace for your relationships, and that can be the beginning for much heartache.

So here is your task…you will need to identify signs of a narcissist attempting to hijack the relationship, carrying it into an unhealthy direction.  Then once you see what is happening, you can become poised to move into a much healthier direction.  

As you choose to chart your own course away from the narcissist’s patterns, you can expect pushback.  In fact, it is highly predictable that the narcissist will feel offended. But rather than collapsing, you can build upon your awareness, determined to be the one who steps away from the narcissist’s self serving games, opting instead for your separate version of clean living.