Ten Red Flags Indicate That You Are Dating a Narcissist
Written by Narcissistic Abuse Expert Randi Fine
Narcissistic Abuse Awareness and Guidance with Randi Fine Do you fear getting sucked back into another relationship with a narcissistic predator? Is this fear impeding your ability to find true love? Before you even consider jumping back into the dating pool, you must be fully recovered from the previous relationship. Time alone does not heal this kind of abuse. If you don't take the necessary steps to completely recover from your past trauma, the odds of you repeating an undesirable dating/relationship pattern are colossal. A healthy partnership requires a solid sense of self, strong boundaries, mutual respect, willingness to compromise, and shared values. It should be based on want, not need. Successful relationships require acceptance of people as they are; not the potential of who you hope they will become or what they say they intend to become. That always leads to disappointment. There is no need to fear dating as long as you know what red flags to look out for. Narcissistic predators are all motivated by the same end goal, and the tactics used to capture emotional hostages (relationships) are very similar. Some may be covert in their approach, some overt. If you do decide you are ready to begin dating, there are ten red flags that will clearly indicate a predatory person:
Narcissists like to move things along quickly. They cannot keep the ruse up for very long; it is an act, not their true nature. Make it clear that you want to take things slow and then, no matter how much pressure they put on you or how amazing the love bombing feels, stick to your guns. If they cannot capture you quickly they are likely to move on.
Narcissists usually bash previous partners and represent themselves as victims of infidelity or abuse. They grandly exaggerate the story or completely invent a new one. Nice, normal people do not act that way. Do not move forward with someone who does.