Projection is also a common pattern in narcissism. It is a defense—which means it operates unconsciously to protect the ego—and manifests as a person projecting unacceptable aspects of themselves onto another person. For example, a person who is lying accuses another person of lying, then the “projector” gets to continue to view themselves as honest after psychologically flinging their bad behavior onto someone else. Narcissistic people project the shameful parts of their personalities and behavior onto others to maintain their grandiose ideal of themselves and to shelter themselves from the
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