Are You In-Love with a Narcissist?

One day you meet a great guy (or girl). You are drawn to this person from the beginning. You feel a strong connection—like you've finally found your soulmate. You are charmed and feel very special. You inhale the intoxicating feeling of being in love. All is good. Then one day, out of the blue, you feel dismissed, rejected, unimportant and irrelevant. You're confused, wondering what went wrong—wondering why your new love has sudden changed. The minute you try to confront your love, asking why his attention has suddenly gone away, you receive a patronizing, condescending attitude, as if somehow, it is you who has the problem. Your need for attention and validation becomes heightened. Instead of feeling special, you begin to feel crazy and judged. You see yourself as desperate when in truth it is your new love that is desperate for constant attention and validation.  And if you dare to criticize your new love in any way, you are met with anger—for a true narcissist does not like to be seen as anything other than perfect.

You find yourself altering your behavior so you can once again find that charming person who made you feel so good. You may compromise your personal integrity and values. You focus all your energies on how to make your partner love you, spend time with you and treat you once again like the answer to his prayers. All your energies are drained—little, if any, is returned from your love.

Being with a narcissist (or anyone with a character disorder) is draining. You continue to work hard to capture those few moments in time when being with your love felt great. Now here's the tricky part. He will. She will. That is the drug that a narcissist gives. It is the intermittent reinforcement of feeling so special and cared for that keeps you hanging in there, waiting and wanting more. That is the narcissist's hook. It is not bad all the time. And when it is good, it is really good.

Here's what's important for you to know. Narcissists are.... Click Read in Browser to access full article

The Trap of Expectations

It’s hard not to have any expectations. We were raised on expectations—what others expected of us and what we expect of others. Honestly, I don’t think our brains will ever evolve to the point where we can live expectation-free. We can however, monitor and manage them. Here’s how expectations impact our relationships. We expect…