More and more people are learning about the dangers of narcissism. It can be hard to identity narcissistic traits in another person. But once you begin to see the red flags of narcissistic abuse, they are difficult to unsee.
Narcissistic abuse worsens with time and often leaves victims feeling fearful and anxious even about everyday decisions. It leaves a mark on the victim’s mind and soul.
These 35 powerful narc abuse quotes can help you feel and begin rebuilding your life after the pain you’ve suffered from narcissistic abuse.
“Narcissistic abuse does not usually include physical violence. It is a form of psychological manipulation that can be just as, if not more, damaging as physical abuse”
~Shahida Arabi
“Narcissistic abuse is a form of psychological warfare. It’s a strategic game played by someone who wants to control and manipulate you”
~Shahida Arabi
“Narcissistic abuse is a soul-crushing form of emotional abuse inflicted upon victims by narcissists. It is the most insidious form of abuse because it is a slow and gradual erosion of your sense of self, your confidence, and your mental and emotional health”
~Christine Hammond
“Narcissistic love is riding on the rollercoaster of disaster filled with a heart full of tears”
~Sheree Griffin
“Relationships with narcissists are held in place by the hope of a ‘someday better,’ with little evidence to support it will ever arrive”
~Dr. Ramani Durvasula
“Relationship with a narcissist in a nutshell: You will go from being the perfect love of their life to nothing you do is ever good enough. You will give everything and they will take it all and give you less and less in return. You will end up depleted, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and probably financially, and then get blamed for it”
~Bree Bonchay
“There is simply no winning with a narcissist. He will treat you so horribly that you will become withdrawn and depressed and then he will turn around and say, ‘You’re no fun anymore, you’re always so depressed. I need to be with someone more positive”
~Susan Williams
“I did not leave because I stopped loving you. I left because the longer I stayed the less I loved myself”
~Rumi
“When dealing with a narcissist, don’t defend yourself against attacks. Instead say, ‘Your attempt to portray me in a negative light is noted”
~Tina Swithin
“The biggest mistake you can make is to believe that you are powerless in the face of narcissistic abuse. Remember, they are only powerful if you give them power”
~Shahida Arabi
“Recovery from the psychological, emotional, mental and spiritual abuse of narcissism is imperative for an individual to return to wholeness”
~Lisa E. Scott
“Recovery from narcissistic abuse is not a linear process. It’s more like a winding road with ups and downs, twists and turns. But if you keep going, eventually you will reach your destination”
~Shahida Arabi
“When we meet and fall into the gravitational pull of a narcissist, we are entering a significant life lesson that involves learning how to create boundaries, self-respect, and resilience. Through trial and error (and a lot of pain), our connection with narcissists teaches us the necessary lessons we need to become mature empaths”
~Mateo Sol
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“Love doesn’t die a natural death. Love has to be killed, either by neglect or narcissism”
~Frank Salvato
“Since narcissists deep down feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that when they are in conflict with the world they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world’s fault”
~M. Scott Peck
“Hate is the complement of fear and narcissists like being feared. It imbues them with an intoxicating sensation of omnipotence”
~Sam Vaknin
“The sadistic narcissist perceives himself as Godlike, ruthless and devoid of scruples, capricious and unfathomable, emotion-less and non-sexual, omniscient, omnipotent and omni-present, a plague, a devastation, an inescapable verdict”
~Sam Vaknin
“Narcissists are consumed with maintaining a shallow false self to others. They’re emotionally crippled souls that are addicted to attention. Because of this they use a multitude of games, in order to receive adoration. Sadly, they are the most ungodly of God’s creations because they don’t show remorse for their actions, take steps to make amends or have empathy for others. They are morally bankrupt”
~Shannon L. Alder
“Narcissism is not about self love. It’s a clinical trait that believes a deep sense of emptiness, low self-esteem, emotional detachment, self-loathing, extreme problems with intimacy”
~Drew Pinsky
“You will never really see how toxic someone is until you breathe fresher air”
~Unknown
“A man who loves others based solely on how they make him feel, or what they do for him, is really not loving others at all — but loving only himself”
~Criss Jami
“If you hold on to hurt and anger with a narcissist, the children will have no normal parent. The narcissistic parent will use them as puppets, lovebomb, and abandon them. You are their only hope”
~Tracy Malone
“Children of narcissists learn that love is abuse. The narcissist teaches them that if someone displeases you, it is okay to harm them and call it love”
~M. Wakefield
“Nobody can be kinder than the narcissist while you react to life on his terms”
~Elizabeth Bowen
“Have you ever been in a relationship with an individual who demands your attention incessantly and becomes depressed, sulky and even full of rage if your attention goes elsewhere? This is one of the earliest warning signs of a narcissist. Please understand healthy adults do not behave in such a way. This is where people who know the difference turn their back and walk away; they know that any person ringing them 10 times a day and demanding attention is not well. Unfortunately, many individuals, as I did, can mistake (or delude ourselves) that this high need for attention means we’re loved, missed and adored, or maybe we felt wrong in leaving or speaking up, as a result of our own deficient boundary function. Please be assured, this is not love; it’s the deadly calling card of the narcissist”
~Melanie Tonia Evans
“There’s a reason narcissists don’t learn from mistakes and that’s because they never get past the first step which is admitting that they made one”
~Jeffrey Kluger
“Narcissists have poor self-esteem, but they are typically very successful. They feel entitled; they’re self-important; they crave admiration and lack empathy. They are also exploitative and envious. The malignant types never forget a slight. They may kill you ten years later for cutting them off in traffic. But they act perfectly normal while plotting their revenge”
~Janet M. Tavakoli
“Narcissism is a reflexive turning towards the self because your childhood experiences taught you that others would not provide for your needs. A narcissist doesn’t trust that others will be there for them so they have to be there for themselves. This doesn’t leave much room for anyone else”
~Krista Jordan, PhD
“What are narcissists looking for, after all? Just someone at their level that they can feel superior to”
~Luigina Sgarro
“A narcissist is someone who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, harbors obsessive fantasies of unbounded glory, feels rage or intense shame when criticized, expects special favors, and lacks empathy”
~Daniel Goleman
“Narcissistic abuse is not just that someone dumped you or who you had a little tiff with them. NA is psychological abuse and brainwashing using intermittent reward and punishment, coercive control and withholding normal empathetic, emotional reactions to lower your self esteem”
~Alice Little
“If you want to go from being adored to devalued in the blink of an eye, simply insult the narcissist”
~Tigress Luv
“You might as well bang your head into a brick wall if you expect the narcissist to be reasonable, empathetic or human in any way. If you sense or witness any of these traits, there is an ulterior motive. When the narcissist is being nice, it’s because they have something to gain”
~Tina Swithin
“Narcissists look for new victims for the same reason that tigers look for new prey: they are hungry, constantly starved for adoration, admiration, acceptance, approval”
~Sam Vaknin
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“The narcissist, cut off from her spirituality, is one who spends unquantifiable energy supporting and maintaining and utterly and completely fake self, in denial of one’s true self, trading it for glamour to compensate for a core of being that is simply wracked, a deep dark cold void; using and abusing others to maintain and sustain the false state. This fake self is contrived in absentia from the connectivity that even the most unaware take for granted. The narcissist doesn’t see other human beings”
~Stacey Scott Mae
“There’s a definition of narcissism that when a parent is narcissistic, instead of the child seeing himself reflected in the mother’s face and the mother’s joy, the child of the narcissistic parent feels like, ‘What can I do to make her okay, to make her happy?'”
~Susan Sullivan
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