“Once a wolf, always a wolf – but you don’t have to remain their sheep.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Wolves are out for blood, for live prey, and malignant narcissists are no different. They will treat you appallingly once they’ve gotten you hooked on their praise and presence.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“At first glance, energy vampires can seem highly attractive. They often are good-looking, bold, flamboyant or intelligent, and may appear to have a high opinion of you as indicated by their flattering attention. Drawing you into their inner circle may seem like just the boost you need in your usuall…”— Dr. Sophie Henshaw, psychcentral.com
“Children of narcissistic parents tend to become fluent in saying “sorry” – even for just their very existence. It’s because they’ve been taught by their parents that they are a burden.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Understandably, the fear, distress, confusion, inner turmoil, and chaos that victims experience leave them “walking on eggshells” in order to avoid further conflict with the narcissist. The effect on the victim over time can be very crippling indeed. I liken narcissistic abuse to a parasitic worm th…”— Christine Louis de Canonville, thoughtcatalog.com
“A victim reports that on the front end of a relationship someone made them feel special. They made them feel desired, of value...only after years of exploitation and abuse did they come to realize they represented merely a trophy of sorts. And, unfortunately, they also learned the hard way how easil…”— Dr. George Simon, drgeorgesimon.com
“I liken narcissistic abuse to a parasitic worm that manages to penetrate under the victim's skin, where it is out of the sight of witnessing eyes, but is free to injure or consume its host slowly, leaving trauma or disease in its wake.”— Christine Louis de Canonville, thoughtcatalog.com
“The thing about women who overthink, overcompensate, overexert their efforts is that they all eventually have an awakening. They all eventually realize what they deserve. When they finally walk, they walk away for good. They know they did all they could to save the man who never existed in the first…”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“When she walks away, trust her when she tells you that you won’t hear from her again. Because all the times she tried to speak, you silenced her or gave her the silent treatment. All those times she tried to get you to have a breakthrough, you broke her down and made her feel like the weak one.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Malignant narcissists exaggerate your flaws to the point of absurdity. This is meant to leave you feeling hopeless and worthless so that you are unable to self-validate. When you’re too busy feeling unworthy, you’re also too busy to realize that you deserve better.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“The idealization phase can only be described as pure, unadulterated ecstasy – both for the victim and the predator. Love-bombing – the excessive praise and flattery the predator showers on the prey – might as well be crack cocaine. It is a common manipulation used by cults to control their members –…”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“We become the center of the narcissist’s world – or so we think. Really, they become the center of ours as we strive to measure up to the ideal image they have of us. They make us feel like God, only to cater to their own God complex.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“You embrace the ups and downs of the healing journey, knowing that it is all adding to your transformation. You give yourself permission to grieve, to be joyful, to be angry, to be calm – whatever arises, you’re open to it, because you know that processing your emotions in a healthy way is an import…”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“You’re actively building yourself up rather than tearing yourself down – and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Instead of being addicted to the chaos, you’re now finding yourself achieving more without it.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“It is dangerous to characterize those higher on the spectrum of narcissism as just struggling with self-esteem issues. We are all, as human beings, to an extent, struggling with self-esteem – but most of us do not chronically violate the rights of others as a result.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“So what drives their cruel and callous behavior? It’s not low self-esteem. It’s a deeply ingrained sense of excessive entitlement.”— Shahida Arabi, thoughtcatalog.com
“Narcissists are masters of pathologizing your emotions. They convince you that your emotional reactions to their abuse are the problem, rather than the abuse itself.”— Shahida Arabi, amazon.com
“In addition, pathological narcissists often show wanton disregard for other people’s thoughts, feelings, possessions, time, and physical space. They overstep and use others without consideration or sensitivity, taking pride, rather than showing remorse, of their Machiavellian deeds.”— Preston Ni, psychologytoday.com