Covert Narcissists: 5 Powerful Boundaries to Counter Their Passive-Aggressive Tactics
Dealing with a covert narcissist? Learn five powerful boundaries you can enforce today to counter their passive-aggressive manipulation tactics. Click here to read the article.
Excerpt from the article: “Boundary #1: People who are the aggressors should not be able to play the victim. If they do repeatedly play the victim after mistreating you, you must continue to hold them accountable. One of the most powerful and most dangerous tools covert manipulators use to gain emotional leverage is known as the pity ploy. Clinical psychologist Dr. Martha Stout notes that this is one of the clearest signs you are dealing with a conscienceless individual. After they have violated you, narcissistic or psychopathic individuals will usually give you a sob story or paint themselves as the oppressed party in some way to garner your sympathy. This way, you do not hold them accountable, even when they consistently harm you. Predators may also use the pity ploy to lure in their victims: for example, serial killer Ted Bundy faked an injury and used crutches to lure women into “helping” him. It is important that when you are dealing with a covert narcissist, you do not allow their excuses to sway you from detaching from them or issuing appropriate consequences in response to their actions, especially if these actions are part of repeated patterns of behavior that are unlikely to change.”