 Welcome, Psych2Go fans. We here at Psych2Go are all about sharing knowledge, so we just want you to know that the purpose of this video is not to condemn narcissists, but to help those who feel they may be victims of narcissism, so they have the tools to help them recognize the signs. This in turn may provide some protection and self-preservation. Signature traits of a narcissist are combinations of various things, including being self-absorbed, deceitful, and using their sense of empathy as a weapon against others. Despite all these unpleasant qualities, the most dangerous characteristic about a narcissist is their initial magnetism. Early impressions and interactions have them presenting as charming, eloquent, intelligent, and charismatic. Unfortunately, these behaviors are simply bait, and the good treatment towards you doesn't last. The eventual outcome is you suffering through emotional trauma and being a pawn in their game. This doesn't sound very good, does it? Well, let us offer a little knowledge to arm yourself with. Here are 7 of the most common manipulation tactics narcissists use that you need to watch out for. 1. Gaslighting Many victims of abusive relationships will be familiar with this one. Gaslighting and narcissists also quite often go together. So what is gaslighting? Well, it's a method of manipulation to make the victim question their own reality. You'll know you locked the door, but the narcissist unlocked it without you knowing, then berates you later for being irresponsible or stupid. You're so lucky that you have them to depend on. You'll argue you know you locked it, though keep insisting you didn't. The narcissist will lie and misinform so earnestly and consistently that you start to question your memory and judgment of past events, no longer trusting your own mind. Oftentimes, they will attempt to change the narrative so they look good and you look bad. They may do this by completely fabricating a story or claiming you said something you didn't. 2. Projection Projection is a manipulation tactic the narcissist will use to take things out on you. They're trying to relieve themselves of their negative load by dumping it on someone else and using them as a psychological punching bag. Usually, this is accomplished by convincing you that you have the problematic behaviors, not them. They might call you names, scold you for your actions, or get angry at you for doing things they themselves do. I know right, double standards. 3. Guilt tripping When a narcissist wants something from you, they might try to guilt trip you into getting it. They make you feel sorry for them, coercing you into doing favors for them and staying by their side. They passive-aggressively remind you of all the bad things they perceive you've done to them. This is to imply that you owe them, or they use it as a reason to bear grudge, creating a desire in you to make it up to them. 4. Silent treatment We may not be proud of it, but we know we've given the cold shoulder to someone at some time in our lives to express our hurt, anger, or disappointment with them. A narcissist will do the same behavior, but with very different reasons. Their reason for the silent treatment is to tear down their victim's self-esteem. If your self-esteem is weak, you need support, you need them. You likely haven't done anything wrong, yet they'll ghost you until you're begging them to take you back, apologizing to them for anything and everything. 5. Famed ignorance It seems like you can't trust narcissists with anything. Well, there is something you unfortunately can trust a narcissist for. It's that they will always have an excuse ready as to why they aren't responsible for whatever they did wrong. They'll often play dumb and pretend to be innocent so they can get away with their bad behavior. They will manipulate you into thinking that they didn't mean it, or didn't know any better, and once you forgive them and you've convinced yourself that they're a good person who simply made a mistake, they just stab you in the back and repeat the process. 6. Playing the victim Remember how we said a narcissist will always use empathy as a weapon? This is how they do it. Generally, we know and feel that the right thing to do for a fellow human showing distress is to extend compassion and understanding. Unfortunately, if this is given to a narcissist, it's a flashing neon sign to let them exploit you. Did they make a mistake or a big mess of things? Maybe they did something wrong or hurtful. Well, they tell you, it's not me that was in the wrong. It was someone else. This is usually the victim, by the way. The entire world and cosmos has treated me unfairly, they'll say. It's in this way they keep fishing for and siphoning compassion and pandering from you the caring human being. 7. Throwing Tantrums As you might suspect, narcissists don't respond well when you stand your ground and stop caving to their demands. The response, tantrums have entered the chat. They will often get upset, raise their voice at you, call you names, and say many hurtful things just so they can browbeat you into submission. They can't be reasoned with or talked down because they're always absolutely certain that they're right and anyone who disagrees with them must be terribly mistaken and therefore the enemy. Do you recognize these signs in anyone you know? Is there a narcissist in your life right now? If so, it can be helpful to be aware of these tactics so you can better prepare to protect yourself against them and possibly save yourself from being the victim of a narcissist's abuse. Learning all the tricks they use greatly reduces the narcissist's power and they will likely leave you in peace. You're not useful to them if they can't manipulate you. So be good to yourself and save yourself from the emotional pain and trauma. The narcissist mind games are now closed and you're not forced to participate. As with any diagnosis though, a specialized professional needs to make the call. Simply having a few somewhat similar traits doesn't necessarily mean one is a narcissist. We hope you learned something new. Please like, share, and subscribe below so we can keep giving you new material. Thanks for watching!