Published on HuffPost July 23, 2017, at 1:46 pm ET 

People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are exceptionally skilled abusers with a kind of algorithm that makes their abuse particularly destructive.

The NPD Equation

unstable identity + lack of self-esteem + low empathy = pathologically manipulative, exploitative, abusive personality

Stunted children likely treated to abuse/neglect or overindulgence when very young, people who develop NPD fail to form a core sense of self or empathy. Narcissists do not establish emotionally mature and stable identities, self-esteem, and feelings of compassion for others. Their fundamental psycho-emotional emptiness leads them to continuously seek validation externally rather than from within. Their parasitic need for validation from others exacerbates their lack of empathy, leading to highly manipulative and abusive behavior to feed their endless need for attention, admiration, and control.

Those intimately familiar with narcissists know too well their emotionally, psychologically, and often physically abusive actions, which surface day to day, hour to hour. For those on the receiving end, people with NPD often seem monstrous. They cause extraordinary trauma, particularly in the lives of those closest to them, with little to no remorse but instead the belief that their behavior is justified.

Common Patterns of Narcissistic Abuse

Although, like the rest of us, all narcissists have different personalities, their abusive behavior manifests in remarkably consistent ways, including the following patterns:

  1. sudden often violent rage with a hurricane’s ferocity;
  2. refusal to take responsibility;
  3. projection of abusive behavior and selfish motives onto others;
  4. shaming, mocking, baiting, and ridiculing (often presented as “teasing”) to gain an advantage and feel superior;
  5. pitting people, particularly their family members, against one another (aka divide and conquer) as a means of control and to deflect blame and accountability;
  6. endless demands for agreement and admiration;
  7. inability to share attention with others, even their children;
  8. scapegoating “loved” ones;
  9. bragging, lying, cheating, and bullying;
  10. gaslighting (making you think you’re crazy);
  11. entitled, arrogant abuse of “underlings,” such as employees, wait staff, clerks, and secretaries;
  12. grandiose assertions of superiority, omnipotence, and perfection;
  13. indifference, impatience, anger, and disassociation with/from others’ illness, loss, misfortune, and so on;
  14. denial, often outrageous in the face of blatant truth; and
  15. calculated charm on the surface and appalling treatment of family members behind the curtain.

Hidden Trauma

Those unfamiliar with NPD and narcissistic abuse typically find it incomprehensible. This is because the narcissist’s lack of a moral compass is difficult to imagine without direct experience with it and because people with NPD generally work to present a picture of normalcy or even an ideal “perfect” life to outsiders. Even most therapists are unschooled in NPD and its damage to those who live with narcissists, which nearly invariably leads to C-PTSD and a host of other lasting emotional and health effects.

Overt narcissists are often publicly charismatic, making their family’s abusive experience invisible to others. Covert narcissists are expert at keeping their pathology hidden in the shadows, often presenting themselves as devoted family members or wronged victims with outsiders unaware of their morally bankrupt behavior at home.

Thus, those harmed by narcissistic abuse are further traumatized by the isolation and self-doubt that comes with it. And they are vulnerable to judgment and ill-conceived advice from outsiders who don’t understand and may encourage them to forgive, confront, reconcile with, or otherwise open themselves to further abuse.

Helpful? Buy me a coffee.Helpful? Buy me a coffee.

Listen to Julie being interviewed about the narcissistic family on The Addicted Mind Podcast and Narcissist Apocalypse Podcast.

Julie L. Hall is the author of The Narcissist in Your Life: Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free from Hachette Books.

Need support? Julie provides specialized narcissistic abuse recovery coaching to clients around the world.  

Related Articles by Julie L. Hall

Photo courtesy of Airman Daniel B. Blackwell, Shaw Air Force Base.